


you as my horizon line

by sevensevan



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: (a lot of it), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Drama, Mutual Pining, Sharing a Bed, and they were ROOMMATES, bia has dubbed this Simp Bow AU which i think legally qualifies as a hate crime, catradora are running around in the background being chaotic but supportive friends, glimmer is oblivious to both bow's and her own feelings, if u like mommy issues this fic has them in spades, lesbian wine aunt casta, who pretended to date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:42:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26926792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevensevan/pseuds/sevensevan
Summary: “Is there anything I can do to help?” Bow asks. Glimmer looks up at him. She appreciates him asking, but…“Do you wanna come home with me and stand in between me and my mom every time we’re in a room together?” she says. Bow gives her alookas he sits down beside her on the couch. “Sorry,” Glimmer says, sighing. “No, there isn’t really anything you can do.”“I would go home with you if I could,” Bow says. Glimmer half-laughs, pauses, and reassesses the situation.“Is there…a reason that youcan’t?”(Glimmer has been avoiding seeing her parents for three years. When she finally has to go home, she takes Bow with her. They pretend to be dating, because clearly that's the best possible way to justify his presence and this decision will have no unforeseen consequences at all.)
Relationships: Angella & Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 146
Kudos: 238





	1. Wednesday

**Author's Note:**

> it's the fake dating au!! i've been talking about it on tumblr a lot lately if you follow me there, and i'm very excited to finally be posting it. this is definitely going to be shorter than roots if i manage to have any kind of self control, but it is going to be full of pining and family angst and bow being just, the sweetest man to ever live. i would die for him.
> 
> full disclosure, this fic is going to take a hard and not particularly nice look at glimmer and angella's relationship. angella is criminally underwritten in canon, and i'm gonna have fun developing her, but i'm taking all of the issues they have in canon and turning them up to 11. if that's not your cup of tea...uh, try the fic anyway because i want attention but please don't get mad at me in the comments. both glimmer and angella make a lot of mistakes here. i can promise a satisfying resolution.
> 
> i think that's it! enjoy the chapter; it sets up all the dominoes for the rest of the fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 10/18/2020: @bonpop on tumblr made amazing fanart of this chapter :')  
> 

_Three Weeks Earlier_

**_I know that both your father and I are looking forward to seeing you._ **

Glimmer reads the text, locks her phone, and drops it onto her lap with a deep sigh. She rests her head against the back of the couch, stares up at the ceiling, and tries to come up with a good reason to say _no_. This would be her third year in a row without seeing her parents during the holidays, but she’s pretty sure _I want to keep my streak going_ is not going to be an acceptable answer to her mother.

“You good?” She tilts her head to the side, blinking at Bow where he’s standing by the arm of the couch.

“I’m fine,” Glimmer says. “Just my mom again. Asking about Thanksgiving.” Bow hums in response. “Do you think I could fake a medical emergency or something? Pretend I’m in the hospital over the weekend?”

“Your mom’s a doctor, Glimmer. I don’t think she’s going to fall for that.”

“ _Ugh_.” Glimmer looks back down at her phone as it buzzes in her lap. She purposely unfocuses her eyes to avoid reading the text on the lock screen. “I just…don’t want to go. I mean, it’s my mom. You know how it is.” Bow says nothing in response, but Glimmer can feel his eyes on her. He does not, in fact, know that much about _how it is_. He knows Glimmer doesn’t really get along with her parents—not to the extent of not speaking, but certainly to the extent of avoiding visiting them whenever humanly possible. He knows that, when they first met as college roommates, Glimmer was always more irritable around the holidays, and especially after getting back from her parents’ house.

Glimmer has never really explained to him all of the reasons _why_.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Bow asks. Glimmer looks up at him. She appreciates him asking, but…

“Do you wanna come home with me and stand in between me and my mom every time we’re in a room together?” she says. Bow gives her a _look_ as he sits down beside her on the couch. “Sorry,” Glimmer says, sighing. “No, there isn’t really anything you can do.”

“I would go home with you if I could,” Bow says. Glimmer half-laughs, pauses, and reassesses the situation.

“Is there…a reason that you _can’t_?”

Bow stares at her.

“I mean, you and your dads don’t really do Thanksgiving, right?” Bow always goes home for the mid-winter holidays, but he hasn’t missed a Friendsgiving with Glimmer and Catra and Adora since they graduated college.

“We don’t,” Bow confirms. “Isn’t that kind of weird, though? I don’t wanna overstep or, like, invade your family’s traditions or something.”

“Our only Thanksgiving tradition is my dad’s monkey bread,” Glimmer says, shaking your head. “You wouldn’t be invading.”

“I…guess.” Bow doesn’t look convinced. “But won’t they think it’s weird that you’re bringing your roommate to Thanksgiving? I mean, I assume they know we’re friends, but…well, you know.”

Glimmer knows. She and Bow are very, very close, in a way that’s hard to explain to anyone else. It’s impossible to live with someone for seven years and _not_ be close, but the two of them are… _different_. Bow is the person who knows all of her favorite foods, and sends her stupid memes on Instagram that are always exactly to her taste, and drives her places when her motorcycle is in the shop, and makes her talk about her feelings even when she doesn’t want to. He’s the one who buys her a blanket for her birthday every year, because he knows that she’s always cold and never tires of having new things to keep her warm. He’s the one who people assume is not just her boyfriend, but her _husband_ until she corrects them.

Speaking of which, Glimmer has an idea.

**Can I bring my boyfriend?**

* * *

**** _Present Day - Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving_

“This is a terrible idea,” Bow says, flicking on his turn signal. Glimmer kind of agrees, actually. Now that they’re not in their apartment dreaming up an elaborate backstory, the whole _let’s pretend to date so you can come home with me for Thanksgiving and keep my mom from talking to me_ thing seems kind of stupid. But they can’t exactly back out now, and Glimmer isn’t going to admit she was wrong.

“This is a great idea,” Glimmer says as Bow pulls his car into the driveway of Glimmer’s childhood home. Just the sight of the house makes her stomach clench anxiously. She reaches towards the central console and rests her hand on top of Bow’s where he’s holding onto the gearshift.

“You okay?” Bow asks quietly, the mood in the car instantly shifting from playful to intense. The car’s wheels crunch across the gravel in the driveway. The sound is deeply entrenched in Glimmer’s mind, connected to nearly every day of her childhood and her teenage years. She slips her fingers into the gaps between Bow’s and ignores it.

“Probably won’t be until Monday,” she says. The car comes to a stop, and Glimmer has to let go of Bow’s hand so he can put it in park. He shuts the engine off, dropping his keys into his lap, and suddenly it’s quiet enough that Glimmer can hear her own anxious heartbeat.

“Hey,” Bow says. He reaches across the console and takes her hand again. “I’ve got you, okay? You’re not alone.”

“…Yeah.” Glimmer squeezes his hand. “Thanks, Bow.”

“Of course.” Bow lets her go, and Glimmer immediately wants to reach for him again. Being here—looking up at that house—she needs that comfort. “C’mon, I still have to meet your parents.”

“And you have to lie to them,” Glimmer mutters as he opens the car door. Bow isn’t a _terrible_ liar—he isn’t as bad as Adora, anyway—but he isn’t great, either, and Glimmer is a little skeptical about how this is going to go.

“Don’t remind me,” Bow says, and climbs out, heading around the back to the trunk to grab their things. Glimmer follows suit, setting foot on her parents’ property for the first time in three years when her sneakers hit gravel. She glances up at the house again. It isn’t dark or imposing; it’s a cute, large-ish two story, with a fenced in porch and a deck overlooking the garden, tucked into the woods a few miles out of town. If Glimmer didn’t know better, she might call it idyllic.

While she’s looking, the front door opens, and out steps her mother.

“Glimmer,” Angella says from the porch, her voice carrying out into the driveway. She sounds happy, and Glimmer manages an answering smile.

“Hi, Mom,” she calls. Angella sweeps down the porch steps and across the driveway in a few long, graceful steps. She comes to a stop in front of Glimmer, still smiling.

“It’s been far too long,” Angella says. “Come here.” She extends her arms for a hug, and Glimmer steps forwards, accepting the embrace.

It’s…kind of nice, actually. Glimmer hasn’t hugged her mother in a very long time.

That realization makes the pit of nerves in Glimmer’s stomach curdle into something harsher, more self-directed—discomfort, disgust even. She didn’t think she had missed her mom.

“Look at you,” Angella says, stepping back and settling her hands on Glimmer’s shoulders. “You look beautiful. I love what you’ve done with your hair.” Glimmer realizes suddenly that her mother hasn’t seen her since Glimmer was sporting an awkward sort of half-mullet in her senior year of college.

The undercut is a definite improvement over _that_.

“Thanks,” Glimmer says. “Where’s Dad?”

“Right here,” a familiar voice says from behind Angella. Angella releases Glimmer’s shoulders and steps aside, making way for a much less complicated reunion.

“Hey, Dad,” Glimmer says, stepping forwards. Micah grabs her in a hug before Glimmer can even begin to reach for him, lifting her off her feet. She laughs as he squeezes her tightly for a few moments before setting her down. “Been awhile.”

“ _Awhile_?” Micah repeats, shaking his head. “It has been _three years_ , young lady. Look at you! You have your ears pierced! You changed your hair!” Glimmer laughs and shakes her head.

“You’re one to talk,” she says. “Your hair wasn’t that grey last time I visited.” Micah touches the grey streaks at his temples and smiles.

“I’ve been thinking about dying it purple,” he says. “What do you think?” Glimmer actively decides not to process that.

“Guys, this is Bow,” she says instead, turning around to where Bow has been hovering quietly behind her for a few minutes now. He has her suitcase on the ground in front of him, his duffel bag slung over one shoulder, and he looks absolutely _terrified_. “Bow, my parents.”

“Uh, hi,” Bow says. He waves awkwardly with one hand. “I’m Bow. I’m Glimmer’s roommate…and, uh, boyfriend.” He only sounds a little bit like he’s asking a question, which Glimmer decides to count as a success.

“Her _uh boyfriend_ ,” Micah says, grinning. “How exciting!” Bow winces and ducks his head.

“I’m her boyfriend,” he says again, more firmly this time. “It’s new, so…I’m not used to saying it, yet.” That part sounds convincing, at least, and it lines up with the backstory they had invented for themselves.

“I’m just teasing,” Micah says. He steps forward and claps Bow on the shoulder. “C’mon, I’ll help you get these things inside.”

“Oh, I can—“ Bow begins, but Micah is already picking up Glimmer’s suitcase and setting off for the house. “…Okay.”

“It’s best to let him just do things,” Angella says, glancing over her shoulder to watch her husband climb the porch steps with an amused smile on her face. “It’s very nice to meet you, Bow. I look forward to getting to know you better.”

“You, too,” Bow says. He glances over at Glimmer, eyes a little wide. He’s _terrified_. It’s kind of cute.

“We’d better go inside, I guess,” Glimmer says. She holds out her hand again, searching for Bow’s. She has the feeling she’ll be doing that a lot this weekend.

His hand finds hers immediately. His palm is warm and rough against hers, and their fingers lace together so smoothly that she almost doesn’t notice it.

* * *

“Well, that wasn’t so bad,” Bow says as he closes the bedroom door behind him. Glimmer sighs heavily instead of answering, sending a cursory glance around the room. It’s exactly as she left it—mostly pink and purple, thoroughly decorated with fairy lights and old posters from high school. Bow sets his duffel bag and her suitcase by the foot of the bed, which they’ll be sharing for the next few days. They’ve shared beds before—in college when they fell asleep watching movies, in motels on the road trip they took last summer, in Catra and Adora’s guest room on a fairly regular basis. It does…feel a little different to be sharing _because_ someone think they’re dating, instead of the other way around, but it doesn’t bother Glimmer at all. She likes cuddling with Bow.

“It wasn’t,” Glimmer says, finally responding to Bow. “You did better lying than I expected.”

“I did better than _I_ expected,” Bow says. “It helps that we had it all planned out beforehand, I think.”

“Yeah.” Glimmer sits down on the edge of the bed and yawns. They had gotten up early that morning; it had been a long drive from Plumeria to Bright Moon. “I keep feeling like we’re going to get caught. Like, there’s gotta be something we forgot to plan for. Someone’s going to ask a question we didn’t think of and it’s all going to fall apart.”

“I get what you mean.” Bow sits down on the bed beside her and flops backwards onto the mattress. “Maybe we should’ve asked Catra for help planning. She’s—well, y’know.”

“Good at lying?” Glimmer looks over her shoulder, shooting Bow an amused look. “A little psychopathic? She never would’ve let it go if we told her we were doing this, though.” Bow groans, throwing an arm over his face.

“She would mock us _so_ hard,” he agrees. Glimmer lies down on the mattress beside him, their shoulders brushing together. They lie in silence for awhile. Glimmer traces the corners of the room with her eyes, trying to figure out what the feeling in the pit of her stomach is. “But, uh,” Bow says eventually, “I meant that…your mom wasn’t so bad.”

“I know what you meant.” Glimmer pulls her feet up onto the bed and rolls onto her side, facing away from Bow with her knees pressed to her chest. “I…guess I owe you an explanation. Since you’re here with me.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Bow says quietly.

“Still.” Glimmer picks at a loose thread on her old comforter, focusing on the meaningless, repetitive motion while she searches for the right words. “My mom was never… _bad_. Not the way you’re thinking. It’s…” She sighs. “My dad was gone a lot when I was in high school. He was a pilot before he retired, and he did a lot of international flights, so he was only here maybe half the time. And I think my mom wanted to…make up for that.” Glimmer sighs, dropping her hand from the thread and covering her eyes. “You’re gonna think I sound so stupid.”

“Never.” Glimmer rolls onto her back to look over at Bow. He’s half-smiling at her, eyes soft. “You’re not stupid.”

“Or not stupid, just…mean.” Glimmer crosses her arms and stares up at the ceiling. “My mom got really, _really_ involved in my life. She planned my school schedule and picked my hobbies and—“ Glimmer cuts herself off, takes a deep breath. She can’t get into the laundry list of ways her mother has pushed her one direction or another. She can already feel angry tears prickling behind her eyes.

That’s one of Glimmer’s least favorite things about herself. She cries when she gets mad.

“College was the first chance I got to make actual friends,” she says instead. “It was the first time _I_ got to choose what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be around. So once I was done, and I didn’t _have_ to come back here, it was just…easier not to.” She looks over at Bow, who is still giving her that soft, open look. “Is that…bad?”

“I don’t think so,” Bow says. “Do you think it is?”

“…I don’t know.” Glimmer ponders the feeling in her stomach and finds guilt, self-hatred, and something like excitement, all twisted together. “I think I might’ve missed my mom. And…I don’t know if I’m okay with that.”

“Hey.” Bow reaches out between them on the mattress and takes Glimmer’s hand. “I’ve got you, okay? We’re only here for a few days, and you can figure out if you want your parents in your life or not. I’m here for you either way.” He squeezes Glimmer’s hand.

“Thanks, Bow.” Glimmer takes a deep breath and sits up, putting her feet back on the floor. “We should probably go downstairs before my parents start wondering what we’re doing up here.” Bow blinks once, twice, and his eyes widen slightly.

“Uh, right,” he says, sitting up as well. “We—don’t want them to do that.” Glimmer smirks at him and stands from the bed.

“Let’s go, then,” she says.

* * *

“Oh my God, that smells amazing,” Bow says, already standing from the couch. Glimmer rolls her eyes, long since used to Bow’s incessant hunger. He has a point, though; the bags of takeout that Angella is setting on the table _do_ smell amazing. Glimmer and Bow haven’t eaten since the mediocre sandwiches they had for lunch while sitting in the car at a rest stop.

“Glimmer’s favorite,” Angella says, setting the second bag down and straightening up. “Or at least, it used to be?” She raises an inquisitive eyebrow at Glimmer.

“Still is,” Glimmer confirms, standing up off the couch. “They don’t do it like this in Plumeria.” She grabs Bow’s forearm, tugging him towards the kitchen. “C’mon, let’s get plates and stuff.”

“Bow doesn’t need to do that.” It’s Micah, returning to the dining room. “He’s a guest!” Glimmer rolls her eyes.

“He’s basically family,” she says. “And he can reach the plates without standing on his tip toes. C’mon, Bow.” He goes with her without protest, and they head into the kitchen. “Plates are up there,” Glimmer says, gesturing at the cabinet that’s just a _little bit_ too tall for her to comfortably reach. Bow steps over to it.

“I like your dad,” he says while they gather dinnerware. Glimmer half-smiles to herself as she grabs forks.

“Everyone does,” she says. “He’s the best.” To her suprise, it comes out a little bitter. Behind her, she hears Bow’s movements pause.

“It isn’t just your mom you’ve been avoiding, huh,” he says quietly. Glimmer closes the silverware drawer slowly, staring down at the countertop. She hadn’t thought—

“Glimmer! Bow!” It’s Micah’s voice, shouting from the dining room. “Food’s getting cold!”

“We can talk about it later,” Glimmer says, turning around. She would very much like to not talk about it, and possibly never think about it again. Bow just nods, giving her a sympathetic look. Glimmer thinks about asking for a hug, but Bow is holding four plates, which kind of kills that idea. He seems to pick up on what she wants, though. He steps closer, bumping their shoulders together, and stays close beside her as they return to the dining room.

It’s quiet for a few moments in the dining room as they settle in around the table, Angella and Micah on one side and Glimmer and Bow on the other. It feels unsettlingly like a battlefield, like staring down an opposing army across no-man’s-land, and even more unsettlingly, Glimmer knows she’s probably the only one who feels that way. Her parents have never known that anything is _wrong_.

“So,” Angella says, raising an eyebrow as Micah starts passing the takeout containers around, “ _basically family_?” Glimmer blinks in confusion. It takes her a moment to remember her words from a few minutes ago. “I thought this was new?” Angella gestures between Glimmer and Bow.

“Us dating is new,” Glimmer says. “But we’ve been best friends for years, so…”

“So what changed?” Micah asks. Glimmer hesitates, glancing over at Bow. She’s the better liar of the two of them; she could win a medal in lying to her parents specifically, actually. She should probably be the one to—

“We both did,” Bow says. “I—I realized one day that I was, um, that I was in love with Glimmer. I…actually remember it pretty clearly.” Glimmer’s eyes widen. _He’s going off script_. “It was our first morning in our apartment, after we moved in. I got up early to get us takeout pancakes from our favorite diner in Plumeria, and Glimmer was still asleep when I got back. I woke her up and made her coffee. We were sitting at the table eating, and she still kinda looked half asleep, and I just…figured it out. That was it, right there. That was what I wanted.”

Bow trails off with a shrug, and Glimmer is speechless. It’s a convincing performance. A _very_ convincing one. Bow has never been a good actor, but if Glimmer didn’t know better, she just might _believe_ him.

“You never told me that,” Glimmer says quietly. Bow glances over at her and smiles sheepishly.

“It never really came up.” Glimmer stares at him for a few moments longer, struck dumb, before Angella clears her throat and Glimmer is reminded that they have an audience.

“But that was years ago, wasn’t it?” Angella says. “Did you tell Glimmer about it then?”

“No,” Bow says, turning back to face Glimmer’s parents. “I figured it wouldn’t change anything between us, so I didn’t bother. It was Glimmer that finally asked me out.”

“I was really, really sick of dating apps,” Glimmer says, taking over the story at the point where they had actually started _constructing_ it. “I was, like, half-joking when I asked Bow if he just wanted to be my boyfriend. But he got serious and he asked me if I actually wanted that, so I thought about it and…I did.” Micah makes an _awww_ noise into his noodles.

“That’s so romantic,” he says when he’s no longer mid-bite. Angella shoots her husband an amused look, and _that_ sets off a familiar mix of emotions in Glimmer’s chest. Admiration for her parents’ marriage, mixed affection and resentment towards her mother, a distant sort of pain towards her dad—

“So, Bow,” Angella says. Glimmer takes a quiet, deep breath. “Glimmer tells me you’re an engineer?”

“That’s right,” Bow says, nodding. “I’m a mechanical engineer. I work with a friend of ours from college at her startup, designing and building prosthetic limbs.”

Glimmer checks out of the conversation for a few minutes. Bow can handle himself; he’s good at being charming, and his work at Entrapta’s company is a topic Glimmer is already very familiar with. She focuses on her food instead, listening to Bow’s voice without hearing the words, and pretends she’s at home in their apartment in Plumeria, listening to him ramble on over a takeout dinner about something involving math that Glimmer doesn’t understand. This is exactly why she brought him home with her, after all—to hold the line between her and her mother, to keep _something_ between Glimmer and the knot of emotions in her chest.

“And what about you, Glimmer?” At the sound of her name, Glimmer tunes back into the conversation, and looks up to meet her mother’s expectant gaze. “What have you been up to in Plumeria?”

“I work at the library,” Glimmer says. Angella raises an eyebrow.

“Still?” she says. “Are you still considering law school?” Glimmer takes a moment before she answers.

“I am,” she says, voice forcibly even. “I’m looking into my options.” _Just because I haven’t gotten a fucking_ law degree _fast enough for you_ —Glimmer cuts the thought off. It isn’t helpful right now.

“You know, there’s some amazing law programs out there,” Angella says. “The one at University of Salineas—“

“I’m only looking at Plumeria,” Glimmer interrupts, shaking her head. “I meant, like, financial options, Mom.”

“ _Only_ Plumeria?” Angella frowns. “Plumeria is fine, of course, but the schools aren’t particularly prestigious. I know that you might want to stay there—“ Her eyes flick over to Bow, and even if it’s an unconscious gesture, Glimmer picks up _flawlessly_ on her meaning. “—but you should consider other schools. You’re smart enough to aim higher.”

“No.” Glimmer digs her nails into her leg beneath the table. “Plumeria’s my home, Mom. I’m not leaving.”

“…Alright.” Angella sounds bemused, and Glimmer is remembering rapidly why she’s never tried coming home for the holidays before. Her mother _means_ well, and Glimmer can’t get into why she’s upset _now_ without explaining that she’s _been_ upset for years, and that would just—it wouldn’t end well for any of them.

They eat in awkward silence for a long few moments, before a quiet chime sounds from the opposite side of the table and Angella pulls her phone out.

“Did we drop the no phones at the table rule when I moved out?” Glimmer asks, aiming for teasing and falling a little too far into _shady_. Angella doesn’t seem to notice, as she’s tapping away at her phone distractedly.

“It’s Castaspella,” she says a moment later. “She’s insisting on leaving early tomorrow.” Angella sighs deeply, setting her phone down. “Hopefully the kids don’t get too upset when there isn’t any food when they get here.”

“Aunt Casta’s coming?” Glimmer says, pure, untainted excitement entering her voice for the first time on this trip. “And she’s bringing the kids?” Angella nods, and Glimmer turns to Bow with a huge grin. “Oh my God, you’re gonna love them,” she says. “Aunt Casta’s kids are, like, the cutest in the entire world.”

“They’re a lot bigger than you remember them,” Micah says. “They can _run_ now.” He shudders dramatically, and Angella rolls her eyes at him.

“They won’t be torturing _you_ ,” she says. “You’ll be busy cooking. This is my agony to bear.” Micah nods solemnly and reaches out, patting the back of Angella’s hand.

“I believe in you, my love,” he says. “Be strong.” Bow shoots Glimmer a wide-eyed, _what the fuck_ kind of look. Glimmer just shakes her head.

Her parents are like that, sometimes.

* * *

“Scoot over,” Bow says. Glimmer groans in faux annoyance, but drags herself over towards the wall, flopping onto her back to look up at Bow. He’s in his usual sleep clothes, flannel pants and a worn out crop top. It’s oddly reassuring to see him in a crop top again. He’d worn a real shirt to dinner with her parents, and she knows for a fact that he brought his nice pink gingham shirt for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, but she’s so used to seeing him around their apartment in his regular clothes that it’s _weird_ to see him in anything else.

Bow climbs into bed beside her, pulling blankets over them. He’s lying on his side, facing Glimmer, and she can feel his curious gaze on her face.

“You want me to talk about it, huh,” she says, turning her head to face him. Bow gives her a half-smile.

“Might be good,” he says quietly. “But you don’t have to.”

“Yeah,” Glimmer says. “Okay.” She’s quiet for a long few moments, half looking for the right words and half getting lost in Bow’s eyes.

He’s staring at her. He does that, sometimes. She’ll look up from her phone and find him across the room just _looking_ at her, the ghost of a smile on his face and a look in his eyes that’s so _kind_ it makes Glimmer flinch. He’s doing it now, his eyes meeting hers, unblinking and steady, and for some reason, Glimmer is thinking of what he said at dinner—his impromptu speech about the day he fell in love with her. It had been an act, of course. A miniature play put on for Glimmer’s parents. But it had been a sweet one, and it had made Glimmer feel…

“Your dad?” Bow prompts gently. Glimmer blinks, and the emotion that had been on the tip of her tongue vanishes.

“My dad,” she echoes, and sighs deeply. “He’s…I mean, he’s great. You met him. He’s amazing.”

“But something’s wrong,” Bow says. “In the kitchen earlier, you sounded…” He shakes his head against the pillow. “I don’t know.”

“I don’t know, either.” Glimmer reaches out instinctively, pressing a hand against Bow’s chest. He’s warm, steady, and she can feel his heartbeat against her palm. He gives her something to lean on while she thinks of her next words. “I think—I think I’m mad at him. And I missed him a lot.” She’s interrupted by a yawn. She draws her hand back to cover her mouth, and Bow smiles at her.

“Tired, huh?” he says. Glimmer nods. “We can talk about all of it tomorrow. It’s been a long day.”

“Yeah.” Glimmer isn’t sure she’ll be any less confused by her own feelings in the morning, but sleep does sound really, really good right now. “Thanks, Bow.”

“Of course.” Bow flips onto his back, reaching out to Glimmer’s bedside table and clicking off her lamp. The room plunges into semi-darkness, lit only by a faint sliver of moonlight coming in around the shades, and Glimmer closes her eyes rather than waiting for them to adjust. Beside her, the mattress shifts as Bow moves back towards her. He throws an arm over her back, and Glimmer scoots forwards, snuggling into his chest.

They’ve shared a bed plenty of times over the years. Nothing has ever made Glimmer feel as safe as she does like this, with Bow’s arms around her like a wall between herself and the outside world.

He shifts once more, sniffs quietly, and says, “Good night, Glimmer.”

“Good night, Bow,” she whispers back, and falls asleep within seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed! this chapter isn't the Most exciting but i needed to lay all the groundwork. next chapter is like 2/3 bow and micah hanging out, which i personally think is very fun and i hope you'll all enjoy it. i don't think i have too much else to say here! i'm on tumblr @sevens-evan, where i do prompt fics a lot and am always happy to write glimbow. check out my catradora fics if you're interested; i'm real proud of them.
> 
> please, please leave a comment if you enjoyed this! you, specifically you, reading this right now, should leave a comment! i will starve and die without them! thank you!


	2. Thursday, Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is short, because it was originally going to be the same chapter as the next chapter, but then i looked at my outline and realized that it was going to be the Only chapter with both bow and glimmer's pov, and that just. bothered me so fucking much. i Needed the chapters to be all one pov. so you get a lil snack instead of a full meal. i am sorry and i promise more food is coming soon.
> 
> but, on the other hand, your snack is bow-pov flavored. which was so much fun to write, this boy is so in love it's stupid. plus we get more micah here! i am a little uncertain abt my characterization of him just because i've never written him before, but i think it turned out okay. he is a good dad who is trying his best.

Bow checks back into Glimmer’s room before he heads down the stairs. She’s still out cold, wrapped in a blanket and dead to the world. How deeply she sleeps had actually been pretty convenient a few minutes ago, when he extricated himself from her blanket burrito to go to the bathroom.

Waking up beside Glimmer had been—well, it had been what it always is. Soft, and comfortable, and after a few moments he remembers that he won’t get to do this forever. He doesn’t let it bother him any other hour of the day—Glimmer doesn’t owe him anything—but Bow allows himself one moment of _wishing_ every day, because it would take someone a lot stronger than him to close that door completely. On the days they wake up beside each other, he uses it immediately.

Bow takes a deep breath, holds it, lets it out slowly. He takes one last look at Glimmer’s sleeping form and closes the door to the bedroom, turning instead to the stairs. He always wakes up before her, leaves coffee in the pot for her on days when he has early meetings and cooks her breakfast on the rare weekend when neither of them have anywhere else to be.

Today, in addition to coffee duty, he has the job of trying to convince Glimmer’s parents that he’s in love with her. It has not been all that difficult so far. It’s not as though he needs to _pretend_ , of course, but he had expected it all to…hurt more. He had expected it to _ache_ , fooling everyone around him into believing that Glimmer loves him back. But it doesn’t hurt at all. It almost feels _good_. Cathartic, even, to sit at the dinner table and tell the truth about when he had fallen in love with Glimmer without hurting anyone.

“Good morning!”

Bow blinks, and realizes that he’s wandered down the stairs and to the entrance to the kitchen. Micah is standing at the stove, next to a pan that _definitely_ has bacon in it and a cast-iron skillet with a bowl of what looks like pancake batter beside it. He’s wearing a purple apron covered in abstract, geometric designs, and he’s smiling at Bow.

“Good morning,” Bow says. “I was gonna make coffee for Glimmer.” Micah’s smile widens into a grin, emphasizing the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes.

“Already made,” he says, nodding at the coffee machine on the counter. “I’m making pancakes! Do you want to help?”

“…Sure.”

“Mugs are up there if you want to grab yourself some coffee,” Micah says, pointing at the cabinet above the sink with his spatula. Bow washes his hands quickly, dries them on his flannel pajama pants, and stretches upwards, getting on his tiptoes to reach the cabinet. This kitchen was clearly designed with Angella and Micah in mind, both of whom tower over Bow.

As Bow grabs a mug and starts to lower himself back down onto his feet, Micah whistles lowly. Bow glances over at him, unsure of the reason for the sound, and finds Micah looking at him, eyes lowered to the bottom of Bow’s crop top.

“That’s a nasty scar,” Micah says, tapping his own chest, and Bow’s heart jumps in his chest. He had worn a full shirt the night before, wanting to make a good impression on Glimmer’s parents, but he’s still in his pajamas, and he hadn’t even _thought_ before reaching up about his top surgery scar.

“Um, yeah,” Bow says. He tugs on the hem of his crop top nervously, trying to pull it a little further down his stomach. “It’s—from surgery. Did Glimmer tell you about…” Micah blinks at him.

“Glimmer didn’t tell us anything, really,” he says. “Certainly not your medical history. And of course you don’t have to tell me.” Bow blinks. He can’t tell if he’s being very gently informed that he’s been clocked, or if Micah genuinely has no idea what the scar is from.

“It’s from top surgery,” Bow says. He’s feeling the familiar need to explain himself, a need that he’s never managed to shake about this particular subject. He knows he doesn’t owe anyone an explanation, he _knows_ that, but he can’t make himself stop giving them. “I’m transgender.”

“Oh.” Micah blinks, then his eyes widen slightly as he puts the pieces together. “Oh. Well, that’s—of course that’s okay with Angie and I. Not that you need our permission. Uh…” Bow half-smiles awkwardly.

“It’s cool,” he says. “I get what you mean.” They look at each other awkwardly for a minute, then Bow spots a distinct trail of smoke coming from the stove. “Your pancake is burning.”

“Oh— _socks_!” Micah whirls around and gets back to the stovetop. Bow steps across the kitchen to get his coffee, taking deep, silent breaths to slow his racing heart. It never really gets less scary, saying that. Especially when he’s saying it to someone he wants to like him.

“Socks?” Bow says, pouring himself a cup of coffee and heading to the side of the stove beside Micah. Micah hands him a pair of tongs, and Bow pokes at the bacon absently, watching as Micah pours a new pancake.

“I broke the habit of cursing when Glimmer was little,” Micah says. “It never came back.”

“Huh.” Part of Bow really, _really_ wants to ask how much Micah was actually around when Glimmer was little. Based off what Glimmer had told him last night, he really doubts Micah’s swearing habits would’ve affected Glimmer in any meaningful way. But he stays quiet. He actually likes Micah, even as he’s wary of him, and he’s here to help Glimmer with her parents, not provoke them.

They work in comfortable silence for awhile. Micah constructs a growing pile of pancakes on a sheet pan in the oven, where they’ll stay warm. Bow finishes the bacon, sets it on a plate, and sips his coffee, enjoying the morning sunlight coming in the kitchen window.

“Mmh.” The quiet, grunted noise is familiar, and Bow is already smiling as he turns to face the entrance of the kitchen.

“Good morning,” he says. Glimmer blinks at him, squinting against the sunlight. She’s still in her pajamas, too—sweatpants and one of Bow’s old track and field t-shirts from college. She rubs her eyes, sniffs, and looks at him again.

“Coffee?” she says. Bow grins even wider as he abandons the stove to grab another mug. He loves Glimmer in the mornings.

It only takes a few moments to pour her coffee. They both drink it black, since they’ve started going vegan a few months out of the year and neither of them like any plant milks. When Bow holds out the mug, though, Glimmer doesn’t take it. Instead, she steps forward, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face into his chest. After a few moments of surprise, Bow awkwardly returns the hug with his mug-less hand.

It’s not a weird thing for Glimmer to do. She’s always cuddly in the mornings. But the fact that she neglected _coffee_ in favor of a hug?

“You okay?” Bow murmurs, as quietly as he can. Glimmer nods against his chest. Bow holds her a little tighter until she steps away.

“Thanks,” Glimmer says, taking the coffee from his hand. “Love you.” Bow’s heart does a little dance.

“I love you, too,” he says. Glimmer smiles at him and darts up to kiss his cheek before wandering away with her coffee.

“We’re about ready, here,” Micah says quietly, and Bow suddenly remembers that there’s another person in the room. He turns around as Glimmer disappears into the dining room to find Micah watching him, a small smile on his face.

“Right,” Bow says, his face heating up. “Sorry.”

“Not at all.” Micah retrieves the baking sheet covered in pancakes from the oven. “Let’s take all this to the table and give Glimmer some company.” Bow nods, grabs the plate of bacon, and follows Micah into the dining room.

Glimmer is sitting at the table, staring at nothing and sipping her coffee. There’s sunlight streaming in the windows, and in it, Glimmer’s vibrant pink hair looks like it’s sparkling. She turns to look at him, blinking slowly, looking a little more awake than she had before, and Bow loves her. Bow loves her so much.

“Breakfast,” Micah announces, and Bow half-stumbles a step to catch up with him, no longer frozen in place.

“Thanks, Dad,” Glimmer says, tipping her chair back. “And Bow.” Micah sets the tray down and straightens up, beaming at them both.

“I’ll be right back with plates,” he says. “Don’t start without me!” He disappears back into the kitchen. Bow sets the bacon down beside the tray of pancakes and slips into the chair next to Glimmer’s.

“ _Are_ you okay?” he asks quietly, mindful of Micah’s presence in the kitchen not too far away.

“I am,” Glimmer says just as quietly. “I just…woke up and remembered that I’m here, instead of home.” Bow takes her hand, squeezing gently.

“I’m sorry,” he says, for lack of anything better to say. Glimmer gives him a small, tired smile.

“Don’t be,” she says. “You help a lot just by being here.” Bow wants to say more, but Micah is coming back through the doorway, plates and cutlery stacked in his arms. Glimmer grips Bow’s hand a little tighter beneath the table and lets her smile drop.

Breakfast is surprisingly quiet, given Micah’s…everything. He makes some small talk with Bow, but he keeps his voice down and doesn’t ask Glimmer any questions she would have to really think about. Maybe he knows his daughter better than Bow has given him credit for, if he’s respecting the no-full-sentences-before-ten rule.

“Everything going well in here?” Bow looks up at the voice and finds Angella standing in the doorway from the kitchen. She’s wearing a jacket, clearly having come from outside, and she’s observing the room with a small smile on her face. She makes an imposing figure, looking all the taller for the fact that Bow is sitting, with her hair pulled back into a ponytail instead of loose around her shoulders as it had been yesterday.

“Everything’s good, Mom,” Glimmer says. She tips her chair back again, tilting her mug to drain the last of her coffee. “Where were you?”

“Planting garlic,” Angella says, and Bow notices that there’s dirt on her knees and shins. It takes him a minute to remember the vegetable garden out back, and another to connect it with Angella in front of him. She has a sort of regal, aloof air about her. Bow had assumed the garden was Micah’s.

Angella crosses the room, coming around Micah’s side of the table and planting a kiss on his temple as she passes. She slips into the chair beside him and steals his empty plate before grabbing a pancake for herself.

“What time are Casta and Juliet getting here?” Micah asks, passing her the syrup. “I need to run by the store and grab a few more things.”

“Around noon, probably,” Angella says. Micah sighs, sounding a bit annoyed. “Don’t worry about it,” Angella says, shaking her head. “If they arrive while you’re gone, it’s Castaspella’s own fault for insisting on leaving early.”

“Hm.” Micah looks back across the table at Bow and Glimmer. “Bow! Would you like to come to the store with me? Help me pick up some things?” Bow opens his mouth, closes it, and glances at Glimmer.

He wouldn’t mind spending more time with Micah. More than that, as Glimmer’s boyfriend, he should probably be jumping at an opportunity to impress. That’s likely what the invitation actually is—it’s not as though Micah really needs Bow’s help carrying some groceries; he just wants to get to know him better.

But Bow _isn’t_ here as Glimmer’s boyfriend. Not really. He’s here to keep the distance between Angella and Glimmer, and abandoning Glimmer in the house with her mother while Bow goes off to hang out with Micah isn’t exactly doing his job.

Glimmer looks back at Bow helplessly. She doesn’t look happy about the situation, but she doesn’t speak up or offer a solution. Bow can’t think of a reason to refuse.

“Okay,” Bow says, before the silence becomes awkward. He turns back to Micah. “Let’s go grocery shopping.”

* * *

“Do you want to push the cart?” Micah says, tugging one out of the long line in the entryway of the grocery store and offering the handle to Bow.

“…Sure,” Bow says, bemused. He takes the proffered cart and follows Micah into the interior of the store. It’s a local grocer, as far as Bow can tell—he doesn’t recognize the sign out front from any other town he’s ever been to, and the interior has a quaint kind of charm to it. Cartoonish paintings of cows beside them in the dairy section, homemade Thanksgiving decorations erected near the entrances, that kind of thing.

“Glimmer loved pushing the cart when she was little,” Micah says as he leads them towards the center of the store, past fresh fruits and vegetables and towards the shelves of less perishable goods. “She would get going fast and jump up on the back of it. It drove Angie insane.”

“She still does that sometimes,” Bow says, grinning reflexively. There had been a lot of wandering around grocery stores in college, sometimes a little high, sometimes just because they had nothing better to do. They’re still banned from a market near their old university, actually, for the time Glimmer rode a cart straight into a carefully constructed display made of soda cans.

“Does she?” Micah says. “Well, I’ll have to insist on no cart riding today.” Bow laughs and agrees as they turn down an aisle. The store is empty besides the two of them and a few bored-looking cashiers at the checkout lines. Micah is the only cook in Bright Moon to have forgotten anything for Thanksgiving, apparently.

“Speaking of Glimmer,” Micah says after a few moments, glancing up from the rows of baking supplies to make eye contact with Bow. Bow straightens up automatically, pulling his shoulders back. It’s the same posture he adopts for presentations at work—he’s even wearing his best button up in anticipation of dinner tonight. He can just _feel_ the shovel talk coming. “I wanted to ask where you see your relationship going. I know the two of you are fairly new, but…well, Glimmer has never brought anyone home before.” He sighs. “I suppose I’m just asking if you’re taking this seriously.”

“Of course I am.” Bow clears his throat. “I—honestly, I could see myself marrying her someday.” Micah’s eyes widen slightly. “Not anytime soon, obviously, but we’ve known each other for seven years, and I’ve…never had a day when I _didn’t_ want to be around her. So, I mean, anything she wants from me, she can have. I just want to spend my life with her. Whatever that looks like.” Micah shakes his head and takes a long moment before he speaks.

“Well, that’s about the best answer I could possibly get.” His voice is a little strained, and Bow could swear his eyes are glossy, reflecting the garish grocery store light. “I assumed as much from the way you two were interacting this morning, but—well. It’s good to hear it, too.” He smiles. “And for the record, if I know my daughter, she feels the exact same way. I’ve never seen her voluntarily talk to someone before ten A.M. before.” Bow laughs awkwardly. It’s certainly a nice thought, that Glimmer might feel the same, but it’s just a thought. Micah _doesn’t_ know his daughter, at least not as well as he thinks he does.

“So what are we looking for, exactly?” Bow says, looking at the grocery store shelf beside them.

“Currants,” Micah declares, eyes lighting up with the change of subject. “Has Glimmer told you about my monkey bread?”

* * *

There’s an extra vehicle in the driveway when they pull in. Bow eyes it curiously through the passenger side window of Micah’s car. It’s a silver minivan, and it definitely hadn’t been there that morning, or in the garage the night before. He’s about to ask about it when Micah speaks.

“Casta and Juliet must already be here,” he says, sounding significantly less aggravated than Angella has every time she's talked about Glimmer’s aunt. “Let me deal with the groceries. Casta will want to meet you.” Bow hops out of the car and passes the grocery bag over the hood to Micah before hurrying up to the house and opening the door for him. He’s pretty sure the conversation he had with Micah in the grocery store counted as Micah’s approval of Bow and Glimmer’s relationship, but he can’t exactly turn his manners off, even if he’s already made a good impression.

Bow probably shouldn’t care this much about impressing Glimmer’s parents, given that he’s there to more or less protect her from them.

And also given that they aren’t _actually_ dating.

He files that thought away to deal with later and follows Micah into the house, kicking his shoes off in the entryway. Micah disappears down the hall to the kitchen, and Bow hovers awkwardly for a moment before recognizing the distinct sound of conversation from the living room. He checks his phone quickly, and his heart sinks when he realizes that he and Micah’s grocery excursion took almost an hour. The twisting of anxiety in his stomach follows him down the hall towards the living room, reminding him that Glimmer had been alone with her mother, possibly for an extended period of time—the exact situation he was here to _prevent_.

The scene that greets him in the living room is almost comically suburban. Angella and a woman who Bow can _immediately_ identify as Micah’s sister, and thus Glimmer’s Aunt Castaspella, are sitting on the couch, each with a glass of wine. On the living room floor, a tub of Legos has been dumped out, and two identical small children that Bow doesn’t recognize are playing with them. A woman with dark hair, a scar on her nose, and impressively broad shoulders is sitting with them, watching them construct an intricate-looking model of a building, and beside her is…

“Bow!” Glimmer says, pushing herself to her feet. She hops over the twins’ castle—drawing an irritated noise from each of them—and hurries over to him, pulling him into a hug. Another hug. Bow wonders what happened while he was gone.

“Hi, Glimmer,” he says, and then, because he can, he kisses the top of her head. She pulls back and gives him a smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

_God_ , he wishes he could ask what happened.

“There he is,” Angella says from the couch. “Castaspella, Juliet, this is Bow, Glimmer’s boyfriend. Bow, this is Castaspella, Micah’s sister, and over there is Juliet, her wife.”

“Hi,” Bow says as Glimmer moves to stand at his side. She slips her hand into his, which results in his voice cracking just a little bit with his next words. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“It’s nice to meet _you_ ,” Castaspella says, setting her wine glass on the coffee table and walking across the room. Bow almost goes for a handshake before Castaspella hugs him. “Glimmer talked you up quite a bit.” Glimmer makes an irritated noise.

“I said he was nice,” she says.

“And smart,” Castaspella says, looking over at her niece. “And that you thought he was really cute when he talks about math.”

“I—“ Glimmer cuts herself off. “How about Bow meets the twins, huh?” She uses their joined hands to tug him across the room. Castaspella returns to the couch, apparently satisfied with Glimmer’s irritation. “Hey, guys,” Glimmer says as they approach the children. “This is Bow.”

“We heard,” one of the twins says, tone oddly curt for an…eight year old? Maybe younger.

“Hey,” Juliet says. “Manners, kiddo.” The kid sighs, scowls at their mother briefly, and then turns to Bow.

“Hi, Bow,” they say. “I’m Andre.”

“I’m Asher,” the other twin chips in, not even looking up from their Legos.

“Nice to meet you guys,” Bow says, a little uncertain. He’s usually good with kids, but he’s also never had one snap at him immediately upon meeting him before.

“You don’t really have to talk to them,” Glimmer stage-whispers. “They get really into building stuff and forget other people are around.”

“She sounds mean,” Juliet says. “But she’s right. We lucked out with these two. Quietest kids in the world if you give them something to build with.” She adjusts her sitting position, kneeling on one knee instead of two. “Could you guys watch them for a minute? I want to go say hi to Micah.”

“Of course,” Bow says, spotting an opportunity. “He’s in the kitchen.” Juliet gives him a smile and pushes herself to her feet, wandering away. Bow glances across the room and finds Angella and Castaspella on the couch, absorbed in conversation. He turns to Glimmer, jumping on the only chance he’s likely to get.

“Hey,” he says, keeping his voice as low as possible. “I’m really sorry. Did anything…” He trails off, and Glimmer sighs.

“It’s fine.” She sounds even more abrupt than Andre had earlier, and worse than that, there’s _hurt_ in her voice. Bow is pretty sure he didn’t put it there, but it aches in his ears all the same. “We can talk about it later.”

“Glimmer—“

“ _Later_ , Bow.” She runs a hand over the buzzed sides of her head, a nervous tic that Bow recognizes. She’s stressed. He shouldn't have left. But they can’t exactly talk about it right now, with Angella just across the room.

“Okay,” he says. “Later.” Glimmer gives him the ghost of a smile, and it eases a little bit of the ache in his chest.

“Can you stay with the kids?” she asks. “I’m gonna—go sit in my room and stare at the wall for a bit, I guess. Don’t wanna angry cry and ruin everyone’s Thanksgiving.” Bow winces.

“Okay,” he says. “If you need me, text me. I’ll come right up there, I promise.”

“I know.” Glimmer leans over and kisses his cheek before standing up. “Be right back.” She disappears down the hallway towards the stairs. Bow watches her go for a minute before turning back to the twins. He’s good with kids, and he’s even better with building things. He can do this part right, at least.

“So, whatcha guys building?” he asks, scooting a little closer to the pile of Legos on the floor.

“A castle,” Asher says, not even looking up at him. Bow probably should’ve guessed that from the growing row of crenelations on the wall they’ve built.

“A castle,” he repeats. “Awesome. Can I help?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there ya have it! next chapter you get to find out what happened while bow was vibing at the grocery store with micah, plus more direct glimmer and angella interaction, which will be SO much fun and not at all painful or upsetting :)
> 
> i'm on tumblr @sevens-evan if you're interested in hearing more from me! i post a lot of little sneak peeks and will happily answer questions about this or any of my other fics, plus i do prompts sometimes. please, please leave a comment if you enjoyed this!! seeing everyone's comments on the last chapter was wonderful, and if you're still enjoying it, please say so :)


	3. Thursday, Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am back very fast because this chapter is very short. next chapter should be longer? i really hope? and it will also hopefully come out fast bc i'm trying to finish this fic so i can do nanowrimo in november. i don't know if that will actually happen, and i might get stuck doing nano and trying to update a fic at the same time like i was in july. but, rest assured, this bad boy shouldn't take too long to finish. y'all will get your glimbow food.
> 
> speaking of which, my nano project is a high school ghost hunters au that will be equal parts glimbow and catradora! it's an ensemble fic, it's weird, it's angsty, it's goofy, and it should be going up in december, as soon as i finish nanowrimo. keep an eye out for that if you're interested.
> 
> on to the chapter!

Glimmer doesn’t return to the living room when she comes downstairs. She sits at the base of the staircase instead, chin in her hands and elbows propped up on her knees. It’s fairly dim in the hall, and it’s not like anyone is looking this way, so she feels secure in her observation. She just doesn’t feel like going back yet, even if the pit of anxiety and anger in her stomach has eased somewhat.

It isn’t gone, though. It’s been there since she woke up this morning alone in her teenage bedroom. It’s only grown in intensity all day, through Bow agreeing to leave, and then leaving, and then the conversation Glimmer had had with her mother.

_Speak of the devil_.

Angella is standing from the couch in the living room, setting her empty wine glass on the coffee table. She steps around it and heads towards the hallway that Glimmer is lurking in. For a moment, Glimmer considers getting to her feet and hurrying back up the stairs, hiding from the awkward confrontation that’s coming. But she doesn’t do it. She has never been _afraid_ of her mother. She isn’t about to start now.

“Glimmer,” Angella says when she’s about halfway down the hallway, eyes widening in surprise at Glimmer’s presence on the stairs. “What are you doing down here? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Glimmer says, watching as Angella comes closer and closer until she’s standing in front of the stairs, towering over Glimmer. “I just needed a minute.”

“I…see.” Angella sounds confused. Glimmer doesn’t bother trying to enlighten her. “Well, Bow is doing amazing with the twins. Is he usually good with kids?” Glimmer takes a moment to answer.

“Why are you asking?” she says eventually. Angella looks at her blankly. “I mean, you want me to break up with him, right?”

“I— _what_?” Angella shakes her head. “No, of course I don’t. I _like_ him, Glimmer, and even if I didn’t, you’re an adult. You can make your own decisions.” Glimmer scoffs. That has _never_ been true. “Is that really what you took from our conversation?”

“You kept asking about our rent,” Glimmer says, “and my job, and whether or not I’d be able to keep the apartment by myself. What was I _supposed_ to take from that?”

“That dating your _roommate_ is risky,” Angella says. “Even if he’s as nice as Bow. That’s all it was, Glimmer. I just want you to be happy—“

“Then stay _out_ of it, okay, Mom?” Glimmer interrupts. “I am happy. _Bow_ makes me happy.” The words come out tinged with tears, and Glimmer has to stop to take a deep breath. The feeling in her stomach has changed to one of possessiveness, of protectiveness. She needs to defend her relationship with Bow. She can’t let her mother take him away from her.

It’s not as if she really _has_ him, and Angella doesn’t even want to take him away. Yet the urge is there all the same. Glimmer has always been a confrontational person, and for some reason, this feels like the kind of thing worth fighting like hell for.

“I want you to be happy,” Angella says again, a note of exasperation in her voice, “and safe, and secure.”

“It’s not like he’s going to throw me out,” Glimmer says, and her voice is small now as she fights to keep it steady. “No matter how bad I screw this up. He would never just—kick me out or abandon me.”

“I understand that,” Angella says quietly. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment, a posture that Glimmer recognizes. She does the same thing, sometimes, to calm down. “I’m sorry,” Angella says when she opens her eyes. “I didn’t mean to upset you.” She pauses, but Glimmer has no response for her.

She isn’t sure her mother has ever apologized to her before.

“Obviously that particular scenario isn’t going to happen,” Angella continues, when a few long moments pass without Glimmer saying a word. “But if you two do break up, you might feel the need to move out without any push from Bow. I’m sure you can imagine that it would be awkward to live with an ex during a breakup.” Glimmer, again, says nothing. This time, it’s because her mother is making a fairly good point. “Really, Glimmer,” Angella says, “I want the best for you two. Bow seems like a very good man.”

“He is. He really is.” Glimmer looks down at the floor. She feels a little stupid now, and a little regretful. She really had interpreted their conversation earlier that day in the worst possible way. But what _else_ is she supposed to do? This house, her parents, they put her on edge. And trying to control Glimmer’s dating life is _exactly_ the kind of thing Angella would’ve done when Glimmer was in high school.

Maybe her mother has…changed. Glimmer doesn’t know what to think of that.

“We can talk about it another time,” Angella says. She grins at Glimmer then, an almost playful look in her eyes. “I can promise you that I won’t ask you to break up with him. To be honest—and I’m not saying you have to—I wouldn’t be upset if you married him.” _That_ gets Glimmer’s attention.

“ _Mom_!”

Angella just laughs and climbs up the stairs beside Glimmer, disappearing into the second floor. Glimmer shakes her head slowly and looks back down the hall. Bow is still sitting with the twins, listening intently and nodding as Andre explains something about their Legos to him. He’s always been good with kids, but Glimmer doesn’t get to see it in action that often. It’s cute. It’s _very_ cute, and Glimmer is sure that he’s going to be an amazing dad someday.

_I wouldn’t be upset if you married him_.

Glimmer turns that over in her head. People mistake them for a married couple fairly often. She used to find it strange. They’re young; dating, she would understand, but _married_? It doesn’t bother her anymore, though, and she thought she was just getting used to it, but…

Bow cheers loudly in response to something one of the twins has told him, and Glimmer shakes the thought away, climbing to her feet and making her way back to the living room instead.

* * *

“So what’d you guys build?” Micah asks, smiling down the dinner table towards the twins. They’re sitting side by side at the far end, their heads and shoulders barely getting up over the edge of the table. Angella is sitting at the head of the table, Micah to her right side and Castaspella to her left. Juliet is next to her wife, and Glimmer is between Micah and Bow. Asher was supposed to be across from Bow, but they’ve scooted themselves around the corner of the table to be right next to their twin.

“A castle,” Andre responds, barely looking up from their plate.

“A castle!” Micah echoes. “Does anybody live in the castle?” Both the twins look at him blankly.

“It’s made out of Legos,” Asher says. “Nobody could fit.” Glimmer half-restrains an amused snort at Micah’s confused expression.

“Bow helped them,” Angella says, shooting Glimmer a look that’s probably supposed to be scolding. It’s significantly weakened by the fact that Angella looks like she’s holding back a smile herself. “It was very sweet of him.” Bow shifts in his seat, looking a little uncomfortable with the praise, and he’s opening his mouth to speak when Andre speaks again.

“He builds _arms_ ,” they say, a hint of awe in their voice. “That’s so much cooler than castles.”

“Arms?” Castaspella says, giving Bow a curious look. Glimmer tenses slightly. She loves her aunt, but Casta is _unbelievably_ good at embarrassing her.

“Prosthetics,” Bow clarifies. “I design prosthetic arms.”

“Well, that’s noble of you,” Castaspella says. She looks over Glimmer and gives her an exaggerated nod. Glimmer sinks a little lower in her chair. Castaspella turns back to Bow and says, “So, Bow, you’re very good with kids. Do you think you’ll have any someday?” Bow coughs quietly.

“I, um…” He glances at Glimmer, and Glimmer very narrowly avoids meeting his gaze. She is absolutely not going to address Castaspella’s implication. “Angella,” Bow says, turning to face the head of the table. “Do you need more water?” Angella blinks at him and looks down at her glass—which is, luckily, empty.

“I do,” she says. Bow jumps to his feet and grabs her glass.

“I can get that for you,” he says. “Anyone else?” Everyone quietly mumbles a no, and Bow hurries out of the room.

“I take it you two haven’t discussed it?” Castaspella says, turning to Glimmer. Glimmer groans quietly.

“We’ve been dating for two months, Aunt Casta.”

“Well, sure,” Castaspella says. “But you were friends first, right? You’ve been in love forever?”

“We…” Glimmer hesitates. That isn’t the backstory they agreed on, or the one Bow improvised during dinner yesterday, but something about it feels…

“Here you go,” Bow says from behind her, setting Angella’s water down in front of her before returning to his seat. Angella murmurs her thanks, and the table falls into silence as Glimmer tries to formulate a response to Castaspella’s curious gaze.

“We haven’t talked about the kid thing,” she says finally, and feels Bow’s anxious eyes find her face. “But I don’t think either of us would be opposed to it, sometime in the distant future. Very, very distant.”

“I wouldn’t object to grandkids,” Micah says from down the table. Glimmer covers her face in her hands and takes a deep breath.

“That’s great, Dad,” she says. “Now can we _please_ talk about something else?”

* * *

“How are you feeling?” Bow asks. Glimmer doesn’t answer at first. She’s tucked up against his side, staring up at the ceiling of her old bedroom. It’s still strange to have Bow here. It makes her wonder what things would’ve been like if they had grown up together, if she had known him back in high school, when she most needed a friend and couldn’t find one anywhere.

“Not bad,” Glimmer says eventually. “That could’ve gone worse.” It could’ve gone a _lot_ worse. Angella hadn’t spoken much at dinner, and after the initial awkward kid talk, the conversation had flowed pretty easily. Glimmer gets along well with Castaspella, for all her aunt loves to embarrass her.

Angella’s silence had worried Glimmer a bit, actually. She wonders if she had been too harsh in their conversation by the stairs earlier that day, then immediately gets angry with herself for worrying about it. She had said what she needed to say. She shouldn’t feel bad that her mother didn’t like it.

“What about you?” Glimmer says, turning onto her side to look up at Bow. He has his hands beneath his head, fingers laced together, staring up at the ceiling. She takes a minute to admire his profile—sharp, square jawline, straight nose, strong brow. The light from the bedside lamp is reflecting off of his eyes, casting a ring of white across dark brown irises. He looks a little…Glimmer decides _etherial_ is the right word. “How was your day? Going grocery shopping with my dad and all that?” Bow half-smiles.

“Well, I came out to him,” he says. Glimmer lifts herself up on one elbow to get a better look at him, frowning deeply.

“You did?” she says. “Wait, which way?” Bow laughs.

“As trans,” he clarifies. He’s looking up at her now, and Glimmer is overwhelmed for a moment. He’s so, so handsome. She’s always aware of that, but it seems especially prevalent now. “He accidentally saw my scars when we were cooking this morning.”

“Huh.” Bow doesn’t sound upset, which eases some of Glimmer’s concern. “How did that go?”

“Pretty good,” Bow says. “A little awkward, but not in a bad way.”

“Scary?”

“It always is.” Bow goes silent for a bit, and the light, relaxed expression on his face darkens slightly. “I was…a little worried that that would be a deal breaker. For your parents, I mean. I wasn’t sure if they’d be okay with you dating me if they knew.” Glimmer can’t imagine either of her parents having a problem with Bow being trans—not fully understanding it, maybe, but not being _upset_ about it. She doesn’t say that, though, both because she doubts it would make Bow feel any better, and because something else is bothering her about what he’s said.

“It wouldn’t make a difference if they didn’t approve of us, though,” she says. “We’re not actually dating.”

“…Right,” Bow says, after a moment of silence. “I know it doesn’t really matter. It could’ve just made the rest of the weekend really awkward if Micah was weird about it.”

“Bow.” Glimmer shakes his head. “If either of my parents say _anything_ weird to you, we can be on the road back to Plumeria in twenty minutes. Okay? I wouldn’t—I would _never_ ask you to stay in a situation like that. Never.” Bow smiles at her.

“Thank you,” he says, and he sounds so _goddamn_ _sincere_ that Glimmer’s heart aches. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Finally, Glimmer lies back down, and Bow lowers one arm to wrap around her shoulders.

“What about you?” he says. “What happened while I was gone?” Glimmer sighs deeply, going over _that_ conversation in her head once again.

“I don’t know,” she mutters. “I honestly don’t know. My mom wanted to talk to me about you and me. She…was asking about my financial situation. If I would be okay if we broke up, since we pay for the apartment together.”

“Okay,” Bow says, a little hesitantly. “It’s a risky situation. I mean, she thinks it is. That makes sense.” Glimmer half-laughs.

“Yeah,” she agrees. “It does. And I assumed she was trying to get me to break up with you.” Bow makes a startled noise. “I don’t even know why I assumed that. She didn’t say anything like it. And then I blew up at her earlier, before dinner, and I just…” She sighs and trails off.

“I mean, she’s…manipulative, right?” Bow says. “If you’re used to having to read between the lines…”

“I don’t know.” Glimmer groans. “When I got mad at her, she apologized for it. What the fuck am I supposed to do with that? My mom doesn’t _apologize_ to me.”

“Do you want to accept it?”

“I don’t _know_.” Glimmer rolls onto her side, staring at the wall while she tries to gather her thoughts. Bow presses a reassuring hand against her back.

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s not your fault,” Glimmer says. “I’m not upset with you.” She measures her breathing for a few long moments—four counts in, seven held, eight out. “I just think I might’ve made a mistake,” she finally admits. “I don’t think cutting them out was…the right thing to do. I missed them, Bow, and I—I love my mom. Despite it all.” Bow’s hand presses a little more firmly against her. “And I don’t know how to—feel about that, or what to do with it, or how to talk to my mom without feeling like I need to defend myself. And neither of them even know it.” Bow is silent for awhile. Glimmer doesn’t hold it against him. He has the best dads in the world; he can’t exactly relate to this.

“Would it help if they did know?” Bow says eventually. “I…think if your parents knew how they’ve made you feel, they would want to change.”

“Maybe.” Bow is almost certainly right, but Glimmer doesn’t know where to even _begin_. How does she approach her parents and say _hey, I love you guys but you kind of fucked up the first twenty-two-ish years of my life and I’m still mad about it?_ She doesn’t think her mom would take that too well. “One thing at a time, my mom wanted to talk about the money thing again. So I guess I’ll deal with that tomorrow and…figure the rest out from there.”

“I can talk to her too, if you want,” Bow says. “I don’t know if that would help at all, but if she wants reassurance that I wouldn’t just abandon you if we broke up, I can do that.” Glimmer isn’t sure if that would help, either. But it sounds a lot easier than talking to her mom herself.

“That sounds good.” She finally rolls back over to find Bow gazing at her, that familiar, unbearable kindness in his eyes. “Not til the afternoon, though. I wanna drive you around town tomorrow morning. Give you the _places I cried in high school_ tour.” Bow smiles.

“Sounds good,” he says. “Maybe we can make some better memories in them.”

“Yeah.” Glimmer is pretty sure every memory she might make now will be better than any memory she has of high school just by virtue of Bow being there. He rolls over and turns off the lamp on the bedside table. “Good night, Bow.”

“Night.” He rolls back over, and Glimmer shuffles forward into his waiting arms, seeking out that familiar sense of safety—and finding it immediately.

For some reason, the last thing she thinks of is their earlier conversation, when she said that they aren’t dating, and that moment of hesitation before Bow agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there ya have it! i did not include the actual conversation between angella and glimmer because their scenes are very difficult to write and i did not feel like it <3 but there Is an angella and glimmer conversation next chapter that will. well. i don't know if it'll make you feel Good but it'll certainly make you feel Something.
> 
> i'm on tumblr @sevens-evan if you wanna hear more from me; i talk about julien baker a lot and write prompt fics sometimes.
> 
> please leave a comment if you enjoyed!! there was a Large drop in comments between chapters 1 and 2, so if you're following this while i'm posting, please let me know if you're still enjoying it!


	4. Friday, Pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is uh. fun?

“Oh my God, that smells so good,” Bow says as he climbs back into the passenger seat of his car, juggling two coffee cups and a paper bag in his lap. Glimmer grins at him from the driver’s seat, leaving her keys in the ignition as he passes her one of the coffees.

“I told you, it’s the best pastries you’ll get _anywhere_ ,” she says. She makes grabby hands at the paper bag in his lap, and Bow holds it out to her, very reluctantly surrendering one of the two cinnamon rolls inside. “I used to come here all the time in high school,” Glimmer says as she stacks paper napkins in her lap. “I mean, mostly just so I could be somewhere other than home, and it was conveniently located near my school. Everyone there got used to me hanging out in the lounge chair for like six hours a day. But also because their pastries are _amazing_.”

“So why are we eating them in the car instead of inside?” Bow asks, unwrapping his cinnamon roll and practically drooling. They had skipped breakfast this morning at Glimmer’s insistence, so he’s hungry, and it really does smell _amazing_.

“Because it’s a small town, and if we sit inside, _someone_ I know is going to show up eventually and want to know who you are,” Glimmer says. “And then we have to lie to more people about our relationship. Plus, y’know, atmosphere.” Atmosphere indeed. It’s absolutely dumping rain today, beating against the top of the car and pouring down the windshield. The inside of the car smells like coffee and cinnamon rolls, and it’s still warm from when the heat was running on the drive over. Bow has to admit it does feel a little cozy.

“Fair enough,” he says, and takes a bite of his cinnamon roll. Immediately, he has to lean back against the car seat, eyes drifting shut. “Oh my God, I’m gonna cry.” Glimmer laughs, laughs _genuinely_ , and it makes Bow’s heart clench. He’s missed that sound. She’s been so much less happy than usual in the day-and-a-half they’ve been in Bright Moon.

They eat in silence, accompanied by the pounding of the rain. Bow spends the time reflecting on what Glimmer had said—that she came here in high school purely to get away from home, to get away from her parents. The thought tugs Bow in several directions at once. He hates that she was hurt for so long, that he didn’t know her then and couldn’t do a thing about it. But it also…sort of confuses him.

Bow _likes_ Glimmer’s parents. Micah is goofy and charming in a way that reminds Bow of his own dads. Angella is admittedly harder to get a read on, but from what little he’s spoken with her, she’s come off as polite, deeply intelligent, and funny in a dry, quiet sort of way. But none of that changes how their actions affected Glimmer, and Bow can’t shake the feeling that liking her parents is somehow betraying Glimmer herself.

“You ready to go?” Glimmer asks after awhile, replacing her napkins in the paper bag. Bow blinks and realizes that they’ve both finished eating while he’s been thinking. It makes him a little sad, actually; he would’ve liked to appreciate the cinnamon roll more thoroughly.

“Sure,” he says, buckling his seatbelt and holding his coffee a little tighter in apprehension. Glimmer isn’t a _bad_ driver, she’s just…a little terrifying. She’s actually a lot _less_ terrifying on her bike, somehow, but that’s all the way back in Plumeria. Bow resigns himself to staring at his coffee cup lid the entire drive to wherever they’re going.

“We’re going to the public library,” Glimmer says as she pulls the car out onto the road. “I used to study there every weekend in high school. The bakery gets too loud on weekends.” Bow takes in that information quietly. He knows Glimmer likes libraries; that had actually been part of how they had initially bonded in college. They both loved finding a quiet corner and hiding themselves away for hours, studying or goofing off on the internet. For Bow, it had been a nice reminder of home. He had spent a lot of weekdays when he was little wandering around the Plumeria University library, waiting for his fathers to finish work.

For Glimmer, it had apparently been a reminder of the distance between herself and her parents.

The drive is short and peaceful. Bow sips his coffee and works up the courage to look out the car windows. He’s relieved to find that Glimmer is driving fairly slowly—maybe because of the rain, maybe for some other reason he can’t guess at. Either way, he enjoys it. Between the cold rain outside and the hot coffee in his hands, it’s a calming morning.

Glimmer parks outside a short, one-story building. It’s mostly brick, and has a few large windows that reveal stacks of books and a few empty armchairs inside. She turns the car off, unbuckles her seatbelt, and starts to open the door.

“Wait up,” Bow says. “We should finish our coffees.” He assumes they aren’t allowed inside.

“We’ll sneak them in,” Glimmer says with a shrug. Before Bow can formulate a response, Glimmer is out of the car and slamming the door closed behind her. He follows her reluctantly, scrambling out of the car and frowning at her innocent smile.

“Glimmer, that’s not allowed,” he says, hurrying to catch up as she starts across the parking lot towards the library building.

“That’s where the sneaking part comes in,” Glimmer says, grinning at him. “Don’t complain to me about _rules_ , you were speeding the whole drive to Bright Moon.”

“That’s—“ Bow groans. “Speed limits are dumb sometimes! I follow all the rules that make _sense_ , and _no drinks in the library_ is, like, sacred.” He also feels a little bit like one of his dads is going to pop out of nowhere and give him a disappointed look, but he isn’t going to admit that.

“Oh, come on,” Glimmer says, rolling her eyes. “I used to sneak entire meals in here when I was a teenager. This is nothing. C’mon, just stick it in your jacket.” They’re practically at the library doors now. Glimmer’s coffee cup has…gone somewhere. Bow isn’t actually sure _where_ , but it’s very effectively hidden, and she’s pulling one of the doors open. With a spike of anxiety, he crosses his arms awkwardly, shoving the coffee cup inside his unzipped bomber jacket.

“I look _so_ shady,” he mutters to Glimmer as he steps through the door she’s holding open for him. She laughs.

“You look even shadier when you’re whispering to me about how shady you look,” she informs him. “Chill.”

Bow absolutely does _not_ chill, but they do somehow make it into the library. The librarian at the reference desk glances up at them as they pass, but doesn’t stop them, or comment on the way Bow’s right arm is shoved awkwardly beneath his jacket. He breathes an audible sigh of relief as they head off into the stacks without another person in sight.

“You worry too much,” Glimmer says, glancing back at him with an amused look. “Are you trying to steal Adora’s job?”

“I only worry, like, three-quarters as much as she does.” That draws an eye roll from Glimmer. She leads them farther back into the stacks. This library is much more cramped than the high-ceilinged, brightly lit, academic institution Bow had grown up in. The shelves are so packed with books and close together that it blocks out some of the ambient light. He kind of loves it.

“Whoa,” Bow says automatically as he steps up alongside Glimmer. They’ve stopped at what he thinks is the very back of the building, next to a giant window. In a little nook surrounded by shelves, a small table and two luxurious looking armchairs are set up, turned at a slight angle to face the window.

“Pretty nice, right?” Glimmer says. She’s produced her coffee from somewhere and is holding it in both hands, smiling over the lid. Bow realizes his own coffee is still clutched in one hand and shoved against his opposite side under his jacket. He retrieves it as smoothly as he can and hopes Glimmer doesn’t decide to laugh at him. “I don’t think many people actually know this is back here,” she’s saying, barely paying him any attention. “I never ran into anyone else when I studied here, and the librarians definitely don’t advertise it.”

“It’s really nice,” Bow says. He glances around the nook, trying to picture a younger, sadder version of his best friend. One who looks a lot like the Glimmer he met his first week of college, hair cut in a grown-out bob and a confrontational look in her eyes. He can almost see it: Glimmer in one of the armchairs, books spread out on the table in front of her, empty cup from the coffee she smuggled in on the floor beside the chair. And, across the table from her, Bow’s younger self in the other armchair, face still covered in the acne his first few months of testosterone brought him—

Bow blinks. No, he didn’t know Glimmer back then. He wasn’t there. But God, he wishes he could’ve been.

“This isn’t actually our next spot on the _places I cried in high school_ tour, though,” Glimmer is saying, and Bow drags the present back into focus. “This spot is too nice to have a mental breakdown in. C’mon.” Bow takes a long sip of his coffee and follows Glimmer back into the shelves, down a different path than the one they had taken to reach the nook. It’s a much shorter walk this time; they turn a corner between two shelves and Glimmer abruptly stops.

“Here we are,” she announces, turning to look at Bow. He blinks, glances between the shelves, and wonders what he’s missing.

“The, uh…” He glances at the shelf behind him, scanning the titles on the sides of the books. “Anglo-Saxon literature section? Did you really hate reading _Beowulf_?”

“No,” Glimmer says, rolling her eyes. “Well, yes, but that’s not the point. The point is that no one ever comes back here. And even if they did, you can hear someone coming from, like, six rows away. Perfect breakdown territory.”

“…If you say so.” Bow had not spent his high school years seeking out the easiest public places to cry. He could do that just fine at home, and his dads would never intrude on his privacy while he was at it. Besides, he had passed his lowest point for mental health by the time he got to high school.

“C’mon, sit down,” Glimmer says. She settles onto the floor, setting her coffee beside her. The aisle between the bookshelves is just wide enough that, with her knees flat and her back against one shelf, the soles of her shoes press up against the base of the opposite shelf. Bow mirrors her position, sitting down next to her feet. His legs are too long to fit in the cramped space as comfortably as Glimmer does; he ends up with his knees awkwardly half-bent, his heels on the floor and his toes resting against the bookshelf.

“Well, this was kinda it,” Glimmer says after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “Bakery on school days, library on the weekends. Home whenever I couldn’t avoid it.” Bow wants to reach for her hand, but she’s too far away, and she’s holding her now-empty coffee cup tightly in both hands.

Instead, he says, “I’m sorry.” Glimmer blinks at him.

“You don’t have to be,” she says. “It’s not like it was your fault.”

“Well, yeah,” he says. “I didn’t mean it like, I’m sorry for something I did. I’m just sorry. You shouldn’t have had to go through that. And definitely not alone.” He turns his coffee cup in his hands, thinking about his next words. “Besides, it…seemed like someone should say that to you. I figured I could, if no one else has.” He looks back up at Glimmer and finds her staring at him, eyes a little wide with a look that Bow doesn’t recognize.

“Thank you,” Glimmer says finally. “That…means a lot, actually.”

“Yeah.” Bow offers her a sad half-smile and, for lack of an easier form of contact, bumps his leg against hers. “Always.” They stare at each other for a moment more. Staring at Glimmer isn’t exactly new to Bow. He spends a lot of his time just looking at her, and he knows she’s noticed that. He has to assume it doesn’t bother her.

It is, however, a little new to find her looking back.

“We should probably get out of here,” Glimmer says eventually, still not looking away from Bow. “We have to talk to my mom at some point today.” Bow sighs resignedly and nods. They really do need to. But even if it goes well, Bow can’t picture this being easy.

* * *

“Do you wanna go first?” Glimmer says, pausing on the front porch of her house and turning to look at Bow. Bow frowns.

“Are we taking turns?” he says. Glimmer shrugs.

“I don’t really want to talk to her yet,” she says quietly. “And maybe if you just…reassure her about the money stuff, I won’t have to.” That…doesn’t sound super healthy to Bow. But Glimmer looks tired again, and stressed out, and he just wants to make her feel better. They can talk through the whole _communication is key to any kind of relationship and if you want to keep your parents in your life you should probably talk to them_ thing later.

“Okay,” Bow says. “I’ll go first.” They head into the house, kicking off their shoes in the entryway. Glimmer immediately peels off towards the kitchen, mumbling about getting some water, and Bow is left to try to locate Angella on his own.

It isn’t hard. He finds her immediately in the living room with her laptop and a mug of what smells like mint tea.

“Bow,” she says, looking up from her screen as he enters. “You’re back earlier than I expected. Did Glimmer already show you around town?”

“She did,” Bow says. He crosses the living room, settling into one of the armchairs across from the couch. “We went to a bakery, and the library. It’s a really nice town.” Angella hums in agreement.

“You grew up in Plumeria, didn’t you?” she says. He nods. “Well, Bright Moon can hardly compete in terms of nature, but I’m glad you like it nonetheless.” She pauses for a moment, and Bow sees his opportunity.

“There’s actually something I’d like to talk about with you,” he says, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

“Oh.” Angella sounds a little taken aback. “Well, what’s going on?” She closes her laptop and sets it on the coffee table, giving him her full attention.

“It’s, uh…” Bow searches for a way to go about this subtly and comes up empty. “Glimmer told me about her conversation with you yesterday. About the apartment, and—what would happen if we broke up.”

“She did,” Angella says. It doesn’t sound like a question. Bow nods anyway.

“I just wanted to promise you,” he says, “that I would never put Glimmer in a bad financial situation. No matter what happens between us.” Angella sighs deeply and closes her eyes for a moment.

“I believe you,” she says when she opens them again. “I—apologize if it seemed as though I was doubting your character. It’s just that I know my daughter, and I know that, if things ended between you two, she might…run. And if she’s relying on you financially, that would be…” She doesn’t finish the thought.

“I know you weren’t trying to insult me,” Bow says, shaking his head. “I mean, it isn’t really about _me_. You’re just trying to protect Glimmer. I get that.” Angella gives him a small, stressed smile.

“Thank you, Bow,” she says. “I think I’d like to speak to my daughter, now. Is she here as well?”

“In the kitchen,” Bow says, nodding. Angella thanks him and gets to her feet, disappearing towards the kitchen in a few long, graceful strides.

Bow lasts about thirty seconds in his chair before he gets to his feet and follows in Angella’s footsteps, fully intending to eavesdrop. Sure, it’s rude, but he’s _curious_ , and he’s worried about Glimmer.

Bow plants himself just around the corner from the kitchen, back against the wall. He’s completely invisible from the kitchen in this position, and he can hear Glimmer and Angella talking, perfectly clear.

“Why would you tell him about it?” Angella is asking, tone perplexed. Bow hears Glimmer’s frustrated sigh.

“I needed to talk to _someone_ about it,” she says.

“I’m afraid I offended him,” Angella says. “He tried to reassure me. I told you I didn’t believe he would kick you out.”

“Yeah, you’re worried that _I’ll_ screw it up so bad that I decide I have to move out before he gets the chance,” Glimmer says.

“That is _not_ what I meant.” Angella is quiet for a moment. Bow hears the shuffle of feet. “I just want you to be safe, Glimmer. I didn’t mean to hurt him, or you.”

“You just want me to be safe,” Glimmer echoes, and there’s a hollowness to her voice that sends a chill of fear down Bow’s spine. “Mom, has it… _ever_ occurred to you that I might _want_ to take a few risks?”

“What do you mean?” Angella’s voice is solemn, but still conversational, and Bow winces. She’s missed the shift from Glimmer, or she doesn’t know what it means.

“I _mean_ that you’ve been just—hovering over my shoulder my entire fucking life,” Glimmer says. There’s a driving _force_ behind her words now. Bow isn’t even the target, and he still feels pinned to the wall by the weight of them.

“ _Glimmer_.”

“No,” Glimmer says. “You’re going to listen to me. You—you have _always_ been there, telling me what’s _safe_. What grades I should get. What classes I should take—you made my high school schedules _for_ me, do you remember that? You told me which clubs to join, which colleges to apply to, which ones were good, smart, _safe_ choices. You—I—I’ve been putting off applying to law school for three years because I don’t even know if I _want_ to be a fucking lawyer! That was _your_ decision!”

“I…” Angella’s voice is shaky. “It’s a good career. It pays well, it suits your skills, it’s—it’s—“

“The safe choice?”

“But you agreed to it.” Bow risks peeking around the corner. Glimmer is standing against the counter, her arms crossed, glaring up at her mother. Angella is leaning back against the sink on the opposite side of the kitchen, palms resting on the edges of it like she’s trying to hold herself up. She looks…Bow wants to call it horrified. “You _agreed_ to it, Glimmer. All of it. If you’d wanted something else—“

“How was I supposed to know what I wanted?” Glimmer asks, her voice cracking. Angella’s shoulders slump, and her gaze drops to the floor. Bow can practically see Glimmer’s words hitting home.

“But you want Bow,” Angella says quietly.

“Yeah,” Glimmer says. “I do. And I don’t _care_ if you think it isn’t safe. You can’t—you can’t take him away from me. You _can’t_.” Glimmer is crying now, and Bow suddenly doesn’t care at _all_ if Angella realizes he was eavesdropping. He steps around the corner and into the kitchen.

His sudden appearance draws both of their attention. Angella blinks in surprise at him, her eyes shining a bit in the dull kitchen light. Glimmer doesn’t even bother with surprise. She moves toward him immediately, like a magnet, and wraps her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. It’s an awful, visceral reminder of the morning before, when they’d stood in a peaceful silence in this exact place and position. But now Glimmer is crying into his shirt, and Angella is staring at them both with something akin to shellshock, and Bow still has a wonderful ball of emotions in his stomach from Angella saying _you want Bow_ and Glimmer saying _I do_.

“Hey,” Bow says to Glimmer, as quietly as he can. “Do you want to leave?” Glimmer nods rapidly, her face rubbing against his chest. He holds her a little more tightly for a moment as he takes the feelings in his stomach and tells them to _shut up_. He can deal with them later. Glimmer needs his help right now. “Okay,” he tells her. “Go out to the car, okay? I’ll be there in a minute.” Glimmer nods once again. She pulls out of his arms and steps past him out of the kitchen, disappearing down the hall without ever looking back at her mother.

Bow looks at Angella helplessly. What can he say? Should he even say anything? He doesn’t know how to _fix_ this.

“I take it you heard all of that,” Angella says. Bow nods. He would be embarrassed if his brain wasn’t already out in the car, worrying about Glimmer.

“I should go,” he says. “She might need me.”

“Of course.” Angella hesitates, and Bow doesn’t turn to leave yet, waiting for her to speak. “I—I shouldn’t ask this, but…do you think she hates me?”

“I…” Bow pauses. He knows the answer to the question, but… “I think you guys have miscommunicated enough, without me getting involved.” Angella looks disappointed, but she nods in acquiescence, and Bow slips out of the room.

He shoves his shoes on and grabs his jacket in the entryway. Glimmer must already be out in the car. He hurries out the door, throwing on his jacket as he goes, and catches sight of Glimmer through the windshield as he jogs down the porch steps. She’s leaning back against the passenger seat, head tilted upwards and eyes closed. He can’t tell at this distance if she’s still crying.

“Hey,” Bow says the minute he opens the car door.

“Hey,” Glimmer whispers back. Bow drops into the driver’s seat and fumbles the keys into the ignition, leaving the car to idle as he turns to look at Glimmer.

“Are you okay?” he asks. She snorts. _Okay, stupid question_. “What do you want to do?” he asks instead. Glimmer takes a deep breath.

“I want to go home,” she whispers. “I want to go back to Plumeria, and watch some stupid fucking movie with you and Catra and Adora and just—forget any of this happened.” Bow reaches out across the center console, taking one of Glimmer’s hands. She doesn’t fight it, but she doesn’t squeeze his hand back.

“Okay,” he says, as gently as he can. “But listen, all of our stuff is in that house, and you’re really upset right now. So how about we spend a few hours somewhere else, and if you still wanna leave after that, we’ll go. I’ll get our stuff and we can drive home tonight. I just think you should…have a clearer head. When you decide.”

“Yeah,” Glimmer says. She clears her throat and wipes at her eyes with her free hand. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Okay.” Bow tries a small smile. He doesn’t get an answering one from Glimmer, but the look in her eyes gets a little less tired and a little more warm. “So, where do you want to go in the meantime? We could go back to the library?” Glimmer frowns, thinking it over.

“No,” she decides. “There’s a really nice park on the edge of town. We can go for a walk, since the rain has stopped.” Bow glances at the windshield and finds that the rain has, in fact, stopped. He hadn’t even noticed.

“Sounds good.”

They sit in silence for a bit, the car rumbling around them, and then Glimmer says, “Bow, if you’re gonna drive, you have to let go of my hand.”

“…Right.” Bow takes his hand back, but not before Glimmer squeezes it tightly and laughs at him. It’s a tired sound, not half as pretty as it is when she’s happy, but Bow is still a little proud of himself for drawing it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you had fun :)
> 
> i'm on tumblr @sevens-evan if you wanna hit me up or hear more from me! next chapter shouldn't take Too long but i am doing nanowrimo in november, so it might take a little longer if i don't write it in the next three days, lol. please leave a comment on this if you enjoyed! comments mean the world to me :)


	5. Friday, Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i am not dead. nanowrimo is kicking my ass at the moment which is why i've been a little mia, but the work i'm doing for that is very good and you guys will be seeing it soon. in the meantime, though, you can have more soft glimbow pining and cuddling. this chapter is short but i like it a lot. enjoy :)

Bow sighs quietly. Glimmer glances over at him beside her, but he isn’t looking back. He’s staring up at the sky instead, which is somehow sunny now. The torrential rains of the morning have vanished into thin air, and while the grass is still wet around them, the rocks they’re sitting on at the top of the hill in the park have already been dried by the sun.

Bow has been mostly quiet since they drove away from Glimmer’s house. Glimmer recognizes this specific kind of silence from him: he’s trying to give her space without actually leaving. Letting her think about everything without pushing, while still being there if she needs him.

Glimmer doesn’t think she’s ever appreciated him more. Of course, she thinks that a lot. It’s a consequence of being best friends with one of the best people she’s ever met.

Bow would probably want her to be thinking about everything that happened with her mother earlier. That’s what Glimmer _should_ be thinking about, honestly: the inevitable next confrontation they’ll have. She should be thinking about what she wants out of her relationship with her parents in the long run, how she wants things to look in five or ten or fifteen years, and how to get there from where they are now. In fifteen years, Glimmer _really_ doesn’t want to be shouting at Angella in the kitchen until her throat hurts.

Glimmer isn’t thinking about any of that. Instead, she’s thinking about Bow. More specifically, she’s thinking about how _scared_ she had been earlier, how defensive she had gotten at just the _implication_ that Bow could, someday, not love her. The idea had terrified her.

But Bow _doesn’t_ love her. Not the way she had so fiercely defended to her mother. Does he? Glimmer isn’t blind, she’s noticed the way he stares sometimes, the way he touches her so naturally and gently, the way his eyes go soft when they lie in bed and hold each other. But that doesn’t mean…

“Hey, Bow?” Glimmer says.

“Hm?” He glances over at her.

“How come you never date?” He blinks, visibly surprised. Glimmer supposes the question did come out of nowhere, but she isn’t about to give him the context of her thought process.

“I dunno,” he says after a moment. “I…guess I don’t feel like I need to.”

“What does that even _mean_?” Glimmer says. Bow laughs, shaking his head.

“I mean, I feel like I already have all the important relationships I need in my life,” he says. “People date so they can find someone to build their life with, and I already have that with you.” He shrugs. “Even if I did date, I would still be prioritizing my relationship with you, and I don’t think anyone would like that very much. You’re the person I care about, you know?”

“Me?” Glimmer whispers.

“Yeah.” Bow’s eyes widen slightly. “And, I mean, Catra and Adora, too. Obviously.”

“Right.” And that, right there, is what is driving Glimmer insane. It’s the goddamn _hesitation_. The way it seems to take Bow a minute to remember that they aren’t dating. The way he forgets to mention their _best friends_ at first when he talks about building a future with her. That, and the way he _looks_ at her, the way it’s so easy to convince the world that they’re in love even though he’s a shit liar.

There’s a feeling building in Glimmer’s chest. It’s a familiar one, though she can’t quite name it. It’s a sharp, hot feeling behind her heart, pushing forwards, trying to dig its way out. Like a fishhook caught inside her, trying to drag her towards its home.

It’s _want_ , Glimmer realizes. But _what_ does she want?

“Don’t you ever get…” Glimmer is still half-paying attention to the conversation, and she searches for a polite way to say _horny_. “I dunno, like, you wanna…hook up with people?”

“Not really,” Bow says. “I’ve never been interested in hookups or casual relationships or anything like that. Not even back in college. You remember.” Glimmer does. Bow had _somehow_ remained single all the way through college, despite being _absurdly_ attractive, incredibly kind, popular, and an athlete. “And I’ve got all the permanent relationships I need,” Bow says. “So like I said. I don’t need to date.” Glimmer nods. “Why do you ask, anyway?” _Oh, shit_.

“This whole situation just got me thinking,” Glimmer says, turning her focus away from the burn in her chest for a moment to come up with a good excuse. “The fake dating thing, I mean. I guess I just…wanted to make sure that you aren’t…lonely.”

“Nah,” Bow says. “Course not. Like I said, I’ve got everything I need.” He goes quiet, and Glimmer turns back to the _wanting_ in her chest. It’s pushing harder now, itching behind her ribs. She just can’t figure out what it’s pushing _towards_. She doesn’t know how to satisfy it.

Bow scoots a little closer on the rock and slips his arm around her shoulders. The burn in Glimmer’s chest disappears.

_Oh. Oh, God._

_This_ is what she wants. The hooks in her chest are pulling her towards _Bow_.

“Could you,” her voice is shaking, “could you go back down to the car?” Bow shifts a little to the side, pulling his arm away, and the burn _roars_ back to life with a vengeance. “I just need to be alone for a bit. Just—wait for me down there?”

“Yeah,” Bow says softly. “Of course. Of course. I’ll be right down there if you need me, okay? Text me if you need anything.” Glimmer nods, and as Bow stands up, she barely stops herself from pulling him right back down and kissing him.

“See you,” Glimmer whispers. Bow gives her a gentle smile and turns away, walking back down the path down the hill. Glimmer watches him go, watches him stick his hands in his pockets and hold his head high.

When he’s out of earshot, Glimmer takes her phone out of her pocket and opens up her contacts. Bow, Catra, and Adora are all at the top of the list as her favorites, and she hesitates for a long moment between the latter two. Adora would be nicer about this, certainly. But it took Adora twenty years to realize that Catra loved her back, so her advice might not be the _most_ helpful in Glimmer’s situation. Catra will be honest with her, probably more honest than Glimmer will enjoy. That’s exactly what she needs right now, so Glimmer taps Catra’s name and lifts the phone to her ear.

It rings twice before Catra says, “ _What?_ ”

“Hello to you, too,” Glimmer says, rolling her eyes even though Catra can’t see it.

“ _I’m a little busy, Sparkles_ ,” Catra says. “ _Is this important?_ ”

“It is,” Glimmer says. Catra sighs deeply, creating a rush of static in Glimmer’s ear.

“Fine,” Catra says. “ _One sec_.” There’s a lot of rustling on the other end of the line, then the distant sound of a door slamming. “ _What’s up?_ ”

“Can you promise not to make fun of me?” Glimmer asks.

“ _Absolutely not_ ,” Catra says. Glimmer sighs. She doesn’t know why she bothered asking. “ _Is something up with your parents?_ ” That’s…surprisingly observant. Catra and Adora know even less about Glimmer’s family situation than Bow did before he came home with her.

“No,” Glimmer says. “Well, yeah, but that’s not why I’m calling. It’s about Bow.”

“ _Bow?_ ” Catra says. “ _Fake dating shit not going so well?_ ”

“Going a little _too_ well.” Glimmer closes her eyes and takes the leap. “I—I’m in love with him. I think I maybe have been for awhile.”

“ _Duh_ ,” Catra says. “ _You called me for_ this _?_ ”

“What?” Glimmer frowns. “You _knew_?”

“ _Literally everybody knows_ ,” Catra says, and despite the harshness of the words, her tone is gentle. “ _It isn’t a secret. You guys have been in love forever_.”

“Both of us?” Glimmer asks. “You think he loves me back?”

“ _For fuck’s sake_ ,” Catra mutters, sounding more like she’s talking to herself than the phone. “ _Of course he loves you. Have you_ met _him?_ ”

“But it’s _Bow_ ,” Glimmer says. “He’s, like, the most emotionally open person I’ve ever met. Why wouldn’t he have told me if he—if he felt like that?”

“ _I dunno, Sparkles_ ,” Catra says. “ _Why are you on the phone with me instead of making out with him right now?_ ”

“Because I…” Glimmer shakes her head. “Because he might not feel the same.”

“ _Well, there you go_ ,” Catra says. “ _Now you can go tell him, and you guys can get together, and I can get off the fucking phone. I have shit to do._ ”

“What do you have to do that’s so important?” Glimmer asks, rather than addressing the advice she’s been given—because the advice is probably good, and Glimmer isn’t ready to follow it.

“ _None of your business_ ,” Catra says. “ _And you’ll find out soon anyway. Can I_ please _go now?_ ”

“Fine,” Glimmer says. “Thanks for nothing.” Catra groans in annoyance.

“ _Look, Glimmer,_ ” she says and _oh_ , real name. Catra is being serious. “ _I really do think he loves you back, okay? And even if he didn’t, it isn’t like_ Bow _of all people is going to let this ruin your friendship._ ”

“I’m not worried about him,” Glimmer says. “I’m worried about _me_. If I tell him and he doesn’t…” She shakes her head. “It’ll hurt. I don’t want being around him to hurt.” Catra sighs into the phone, creating a rush of sharp static in Glimmer’s ear.

“ _What do you want_ me _to say?_ ” she says. “ _You either tell him or you don’t. It’s up to you._ ”

“I just don’t know if I _should_.”

“ _Well, I don’t fucking know either,_ ” Catra says. “ _You gotta figure out if you think it’s worth the risk._ ”

“…Yeah.” Glimmer is beginning to wish she had called Adora. This whole _real advice_ thing kind of sucks.

“ _I really,_ really _have to go,_ ” Catra says. “ _Good luck. Make out with him or something._ ” Catra hangs up before Glimmer can reply. Glimmer slips her phone back into her pocket with a sigh.

Catra is right. Glimmer can either tell Bow or she can choose not to, and it’s entirely up to her. There isn’t really a right answer here, just a safe one and…a risk.

Glimmer gets to her feet and walks down the hill, tracing the same path Bow had taken only minutes ago. They aren’t really that far into the park, just far enough to be out of sight of the parking lot and the small childrens’ playground near the entrance, so it doesn’t take Glimmer long to make it back to the car. Bow is sitting on the driver’s seat, looking at his phone, and Glimmer waves to get his attention before she opens the passenger side door, not wanting to give him a heart attack by just climbing into his car without warning.

“Hey,” Bow says as Glimmer closes the door behind her. “Everything okay? Or—not actively getting worse, I guess?”

“Yeah,” Glimmer says. She manages a small smile, which he returns immediately. “I’m…I’m gonna be okay. And I think I can go home, I don’t think we need to leave.” Her argument with her mother from earlier is almost gone from her mind at this point. She’s sure she’ll agonize over it later, but she can only handle one crisis at a time, and right now, Bow is smiling at her and her heart is pounding in her chest.

“Okay,” Bow says. “Do you want me to take you back there?”

“No.” Glimmer _cannot_ deal with that right now. “We can—I don’t know, drive around. Find something to do. I can go home tonight, but…not right now.”

“Okay.” Bow turns the car on. “Should I just start driving? See where we end up?”

“Yeah.” He’s _looking_ at her again, and the push at the back of Glimmer’s ribcage grows exponentially. She wants to reach out. More than anything, she wants to reach across and the center console and—and—

Glimmer turns away from Bow and puts her seatbelt on.

* * *

“Can you skip this one?” Bow says as a new song comes on the car speakers. Glimmer recognizes it vaguely; the opening piano notes are slow and melodic. She picks up his phone from the center console and skips the song. “Thanks,” he says. Glimmer just nods and puts the phone back down, looking out the window.

It’s dark outside the car now. It’s almost ten o’clock at night. They had driven around doing nothing for most of the day. Glimmer guided Bow around every neighborhood of Bright Moon, telling him stories about growing up here—stories from her childhood, mostly. Her teenage years had been too rough to have many stories worth telling. He had listened closely, with the kind of _care_ that he always brings out for her, and it had soothed the nerves in Glimmer’s chest.

She loves him. She thinks she might’ve loved him for a long time already. And that’s fine. Bow is _safe_. He’s probably the best person she _could’ve_ fallen in love with, because there isn’t a world possible in which he would try to hurt her. She still doesn’t know if she’ll tell him; she hasn’t settled that argument with herself, but she doesn’t need to be afraid of the feeling.

And, really, he already said he was planning on building a life with her. Glimmer can just…go with that. She doesn’t need to risk telling him if the rest of her life is already going to look like today. They had driven around all day, eaten dinner together at a mid-scale restaurant downtown, had ice cream at a shop Glimmer used to frequent as a child. They had essentially done _nothing_ all day, and Glimmer had had the time of her life.

If this is what Bow is planning for, Glimmer will have a very happy life.

“Okay,” Bow says quietly as they pull to a stop in front of Glimmer’s parents’ house. “You ready to go in?” Glimmer looks up at the house for a moment. It suddenly looks smaller than it used to. The lights are on in the kitchen window, and Glimmer can see her father doing dishes at the sink. Her mother is nowhere in sight.

The first time she sat in this car with Bow in front of the house, she had been scared. Now, looking up at it, she doesn’t feel that at all. It’s just a house. And her parents, for all her complicated history with them, are just her parents. When Glimmer had yelled in the kitchen that morning, Angella had looked _afraid_. Not of Glimmer, but of what Angella might’ve done to her. The pain she’s caused Glimmer has never been about intention.

Whether they can fix things or not, Glimmer doesn’t need to be scared. And even if they can’t, Bow will still be beside her in the driver’s seat, waiting to hold her hand.

“Yeah,” Glimmer says, unbuckling her seatbelt. “Let’s go inside.” Bow gives her a small smile and then opens the driver’s side door.

The moment they’re both out of the car, Bow walks around the hood to stand next to Glimmer. It’s a form of silent support, but Glimmer wants something more concrete, so she takes his hand. He lets her, as he always does, and together, they walk up the porch steps and into the house. They kick their shoes off in the entryway and head down the hall towards the living room, making a beeline for Glimmer’s bedroom.

Angella is sitting on the living room couch.

“Glimmer,” she says as Glimmer and Bow enter, sitting up straighter. “I—“

“Mom,” Glimmer interrupts. “Can we just…leave it for tomorrow? I’m tired.” Angella hesitates, emotions playing across her face so rapidly that Glimmer doesn’t even try to recognize them.

“Alright,” Angella says after a moment. “We’ll leave it for tomorrow.” She takes a deep breath, and Glimmer braces herself for _something_. Anger, or frustration, or a comment about her breakdown in the kitchen earlier. Instead, Angella says, “Sleep well, Glimmer. Good night, Bow.”

“Good night,” Bow says in return, because he’s incurably polite. Angella gets to her feet and leaves the living room. Bow turns to look at Glimmer. “That wasn’t so bad,” he says.

“It wasn’t,” Glimmer agrees. She doesn’t have the energy to analyze it, though. The day has finally caught up with her. “Let’s go to bed.” Bow nods and stays beside her, hands still entwined, as she heads for the stairs.

They get ready for bed in comfortable silence, taking turns in the bathroom and changing with their backs turned to each other, until suddenly Glimmer is turning the ceiling light off and turning to face Bow where he’s lying in bed, waiting for her to join him before he turns the lamp off. Glimmer expects something to be different as she crosses the room and crawls into bed beside him. She expects the weight of his arm around her and the warmth of his body at her side to _feel_ different, now that she knows how she loves him. But nothing changes. It’s as easy and warm and comforting as it always is to settle into bed next to Bow. Her heart doesn’t race as he pulls her into his side. She just settles in close and feels at home.

“You ready to sleep?” Bow asks quietly. Glimmer nods against his chest. “Okay. Good night, Glimmer.”

“Night.” The lamp clicks off, and Glimmer burrows even closer to Bow’s chest, pressing her hand against his stomach. He twitches a bit—Glimmer imagines her hands are cold—and then lays his own free hand over hers, wrapping her in warmth. “Bow?” Glimmer says. He makes a _hm_ noise. “Love you.”

“I love you, too,” he says. That finally gets Glimmer’s heart to twist, knowing that he says it without understanding what she means. But it doesn’t _hurt_. Being this close to Bow could never hurt.

Maybe she doesn’t need to tell him, as long as Bow’s platonic life plans for the two of them involve holding each other like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more art that @bonpop on tumblr made for this fic!! huge thanks to them for just. sending me these things sometimes and making me cry every time. i love it
> 
> i'm on tumblr @sevens-evan if you want to hear from me when i vanish spontaneously off ao3 for several weeks at a time as i have done lately. i do prompt fics, too; if you read my little vigilante!bow au snippet i posted on here recently, that was originally a tumblr prompt. a lot of those little fics never make it to ao3, so it's definitely worth checking out my blog if you're interested.
> 
> i know it's been a couple weeks and interest may have dropped off on this thing, but please leave a comment if you enjoyed the chapter!! they mean the world to me and i can split the motivation they give me between nanowrimo and this fic so y'all can get more content sooner. thanks for reading!


	6. Saturday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i'm still alive! this fic is almost over!!
> 
> i had an AMAZING time working on my nanowrimo project, which will have a lot of glimbow content in it, so look out for that coming soon—probably late december or early january :) i am going to bother all of you about reading it in every note i make on here from now on, so please keep an eye out for it! it's a project that means a lot to me!
> 
> i also have a sequel oneshot to my catradora fic the roots that sleep coming out on december 23, if you're interested!
> 
> this chapter is just. people talking to each other asjkgdas. personally i love lengthy conversation scenes, so i'm pretty proud of how this turned out. i think it provides good catharsis for a lot of the tensions i've built up between glimmer and her parents. i hope y'all enjoy.

Bow is still in bed when Glimmer wakes up. That’s a rare enough occurrence that it confuses Glimmer’s half-unconscious mind, but she’s too comfortable curled up in his arms to question it, or even move. Instead, she slowly blinks her eyes open, peering blearily at Bow’s face where it rests near hers.

“You’re awake,” she mumbles eventually, when her eyes have regained enough focus to see that his are open. “How long have…” She trails off, unable to complete the thought, but Bow gets her meaning.

“Almost an hour,” he says. That manages to drag a fully formed thought out of Glimmer’s sluggish mind.

“Why didn’t you get up?” Glimmer knows Bow likes to look at her, but she’s not exactly an attractive _sleeper_ , and besides, Bow hates sleeping in. He describes it as _wasting the day away_ , which Glimmer thinks is stupid. Her day is just as long his is; hers just uses fewer day hours and more night hours than his, and—

“I didn’t want to leave you,” Bow says quietly, and Glimmer’s sleepy, spiraling thoughts stop in their tracks. He looks so goddamn _earnest_ about it, and she’s suddenly very glad that he’s still here with her. That he’s still thinking about her conversation with Angella the day before, still trying to help her through it. That he knows she always finds comfort in being held.

Glimmer loves him so much.

“I love you, too,” Bow says. Glimmer has a moment of panic as she realizes that she’s spoken her thoughts aloud, but it’s not as though they don’t say that to each other all the time. Bow doesn’t look remotely surprised by the admission.

“I guess I should get up, huh,” Glimmer says after a moment.

“If you want to.”

“I don’t. But I’ll feel better when it’s over with.” Glimmer isn’t confident that’s true, or what having things _over with_ will even look like, but it’s _dangerous_ to lie here in Bow’s arms before she’s awake enough to filter her words. So, reluctantly, she rolls away from Bow and sits up. He releases her without protest, but she can still feel his warmth at her back.

“Do you wanna go downstairs?” Bow asks. “I can bring you some coffee up here first.” God _damn_ it, why does he have to be so thoughtful?

“I think it’ll be okay,” Glimmer says. “My mom knows me better than to try to talk to me first thing in the morning.” She takes a deep breath. “I gotta go use the bathroom, then…” Then, Glimmer has no idea. But she looks over her shoulder in time to see Bow, propped up on his elbows, nodding at her, practically _glowing_ with support, and she decides that, whatever is downstairs, she can face it.

As soon as she has some coffee.

Glimmer doesn’t take long in the bathroom, only pausing long enough to splash some water on her face after she washes her hands. She returns to her bedroom and finds Bow waiting for her on the end of the bed. The minute she stops in the doorway, he stands.

“You ready?” he says. Glimmer shrugs. He’s just trying to check in with her, but she doesn’t understand how she’s feeling right now nearly well enough to communicate it to him. Instead, she just takes his hand as they start down the stairs.

The living room is empty. They wander through it and down the hall into the dining room, where they find Micah, sitting alone at the table with an empty plate and a mug in front of him. He looks up from his phone as they enter, and his expression tightens, going serious.

“Good morning,” he says, not sounding like he’s particularly convinced that it is, in fact, a good morning.

“Morning,” Glimmer says. “Where’s, um, where’s Mom?”

“She decided to go out for breakfast today,” Micah says. “She…thought you might want some space this morning, before you talk with her.” Glimmer breathes a very quiet sigh of relief. It’s _exactly_ what Glimmer wants, honestly.

“What time is she coming home?” Glimmer asks. Micah shrugs.

“She’s at the bakery,” he says. “She said you should text her when you want to talk.” That, too, is what Glimmer wants: to be the one who makes the decision to reach out, who controls the circumstances of the conversation. It surprises her a little how well Angella seems to have read her, to design circumstances that fit Glimmer’s needs so perfectly.

Or maybe Glimmer is overthinking this. Maybe her mother isn’t thinking in terms of stakes and circumstances, treating their looming conversation as a game of chess. Maybe she’s just being thoughtful.

“I can cook you guys something for breakfast,” Micah says. Glimmer hesitates, glancing up at Bow, who just shrugs neutrally. He’ll eat anything.

“That’s okay, Dad,” Glimmer says. “I think I’ll just have cereal.” In truth, her nerves are upsetting her stomach a bit. She doesn’t think she could handle the kind of giant breakfast feast that Micah tends to prepare.

“Okay.” Micah sounds a little disappointed, but doesn’t push the issue further.

Glimmer and Bow each get their bowls of cereal and coffees and return to the table. They eat in a silence that would be comfortable if not for Micah’s quiet presence. He has a nervous energy to him, and he keeps glancing up from his phone at Glimmer and Bow. Eventually, when she’s done with her breakfast, Glimmer has had enough.

“Bow?” she says quietly. He looks up at her from his phone, also being done with his food. “Could you leave my dad and I alone for a bit, please?”

“Yeah,” Bow says. “I’ll do the dishes.” He grabs both their bowls and Micah’s plate and disappears into the kitchen. Glimmer watches him go, then takes a deep breath and turns to look at Micah.

“You’re being weird,” she says. He shifts uncomfortably in his chair.

“I don’t know how to act,” he admits. “I’m…Angie told me what happened yesterday. I had no idea you felt that way.” _Maybe you would’ve noticed if you’d been here_. Glimmer doesn’t voice the thought. It’s the cruelest way she could possibly say it, and she has no desire to hurt her father.

“Stuff with me and mom is…stuff with me and mom,” she says. “It doesn’t really concern you.”

“Doesn’t it?” Micah looks at her sadly. “It isn’t just Angella you’ve avoided these past few years, Glimmer.” He sounds…pained. Glimmer’s heart clenches with guilt.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you guys,” she says. “I just…”

“It’s okay,” Micah says. He reaches out, setting a hand on her shoulder. “It did hurt. And I forgive you.”

“Easy as that?” Glimmer asks, looking up at him. It comes out as a whisper.

“Easy as that,” Micah confirms, releasing her. “But if you don’t mind talking about it, I do want to understand _why_.” It’s a fair request. Glimmer looks down at her lap, trying to organize her thoughts.

“You were gone so much when I was a kid,” she says. “For a long time, I thought it didn’t bother me. I didn’t _let_ it bother me. And then…I don’t know. I was in college, and making real friends for the first time and it—Bow has two dads, you know? And they’re the best. He’s, like, best friends with them. And when I met them, and I realized that I had never had that, it _did_ bother me. There’s just always been this…distance. With us. And it’s still there.”

“I never wanted to be away from you,” Micah says. “My job—“

“I know.” Glimmer nods. “It wasn’t your _fault_ , and you didn’t want it, but it still happened. And I’m still kind of mad at you for it.” It isn’t rational, necessarily, but feelings rarely are. Pretending she isn’t mad will only make it harder to _stop_ being mad. “And it’s all kind of mixed up with the stuff with Mom, too. Like, you never _noticed_ how she treated me sometimes. You never told her to back off me or took my side in anything. And maybe if you had been here you would’ve, you know?” Micah nods slowly. Glimmer falls silent. She has a lot more to say, but she has to talk to her mom later, too, and she only has so much energy for these conversations in a single day.

“I’m sorry,” Micah says. “I should have done better.”

“I mean, it’s—“ Glimmer takes a deep breath. She’s mad at him, but it isn’t his _fault_ , and she doesn’t want him to feel bad. “You had your job, it wasn’t—“

“Glimmer.” Micah’s voice is firm, and he holds eye contact with an intensity that Glimmer has rarely seen from him. “I’m sorry. I should have done better.” Glimmer takes a deep breath, lets it out, and nods.

“Thank you,” she says. It isn’t an acceptance, it isn’t forgiveness. Glimmer can’t offer the same easy, all-encompassing forgiveness that Micah gave her before. She isn’t that kind of person. But this is a start.

“I feel that distance, too, you know,” Micah says. He gestures between the two of them. “Sometimes I don’t know what to say to you. I hate it.”

“Yeah.” Glimmer twists her fingers together in her lap just for something to focus on other than Micah’s saddened expression. “I know what you mean.”

“Do you want to fix it?” Micah asks. Glimmer jolts.

“Of _course_ I do,” she says. “Are you seriously _asking_?”

“I am,” Micah says. “I have to ask. I’ve been retired for years, and you’ve been finding excuses not to come home.” His tone is gentle. _So_ gentle. Enough that it almost doesn’t hurt. Glimmer feels a pang of guilt go through her chest. None of this is as one-sided as she wants it to be.

“I’m—I—“

“I’m not upset with you,” Micah interrupts. “I’m just saying that—I’m here now. We have time. And I’d like to fix it, if you would.”

“I’d like that.” Glimmer’s voice comes out as a whisper. Micah smiles at her and nods, and Glimmer slumps back against her chair, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. She’d said the things she needed to say. There’s still so much they have to do, so much they should talk about, but they _can_ , now. They’ve found a way forward.

_One parent down, one to go._

“I guess I did kind of react to feeling distant by creating more distance,” Glimmer says after a minute, trying to break the heavy tone of the room. “Apparently avoiding a conflict for three years isn’t actually the most emotionally mature choice to make. Who would’ve thought?” Micah waves a hand dismissively.

“No one expects you to be emotionally mature,” he says. “You’re a kid.”

“I’m twenty-five.”

“Exactly.” Glimmer is about to argue when a familiar form appears in the entryway of the dining room.

“I got worried,” Bow says when Glimmer looks at him. “Everything okay in here?”

“Yeah,” Glimmer says, and means it. “Everything’s okay. You can come in.” Bow steps into the room, and Glimmer realizes he’s carrying her mug, which he had taken from the table earlier. Only, he had taken it empty, and as he sits down beside her and sets the mug on the table before her, she realizes that it’s once again full of coffee.

She loves him so much.

“Were you eavesdropping again?” Glimmer asks, picking up the mug. Bow looks _offended_.

“I was _not_ ,” he says. “I actually did the dishes.” Glimmer smiles at him.

“Thank you,” she says, and then before she can stop herself, she leans over and kisses him on the shoulder. It’s too intimate for their friendship, and _way_ too intimate for the setting, with her dad sitting across the table. Glimmer catches a glimpse of Micah awkwardly looking away before she turns her gaze to Bow, looking for his reaction. Bow just stares at her silently, a soft look in his eyes, and it pulls Glimmer in. She can’t look away until Micah clears his throat quietly. Glimmer whips her head around, feeling her face grow hot with embarrassment. “Sorry,” she mutters.

“Not at all,” Micah says. “I was just going to ask if you’re sure I can’t make you both something.” Glimmer smiles a bit. This much, she knows about her father: food is his love language.

“I got enough to eat,” Glimmer says. “Besides, I need to go shower and get ready.” _And text Mom_ , is the unspoken next step. Micah doesn’t point it out, though.

“I wouldn’t say no to an omelette or something,” Bow says, because he’s never one to say no to food.

“One omelette, coming up,” Micah says, “for the small price of keeping me company while I cook.” Bow gets to his feet, shoots Glimmer a parting smile, and heads off towards the kitchen, close behind Micah. 

Glimmer leans forward, rests her forehead on the edge of the table, and sighs.

* * *

Bow puts the car into park, drops his hands from the wheel, and says nothing. Glimmer is expecting him to check in with her again, for the thousandth time today, ask her if she’s okay and if she’s ready for this, ready to walk into the bakery in front of the car and confront her mother. He doesn’t. He just looks at her quietly, expression soft and _gentle_ and—loving. Loving is the only word she can think of for it. It’s the only word that fits.

“Bow, I—“ She stops. It doesn’t seem like the sort of thing she should just _say_.

“Yeah?” Bow says quietly. Glimmer shakes her head, tries to gather her thoughts. Bow reaches across the center console and takes her hand.

“I just—I’ve been thinking about some stuff lately,” she says, and _God_ , what a _stupid_ way to start this. This—this is _everything_. This is the most important relationship in her _life_ ; she shouldn’t be looking to change it by stuttering her way through _I’ve been thinking lately_.

“Glimmer,” Bow says, and there’s the check-in tone. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Glimmer says. “I—I—“ She can’t say it. _She can’t fucking say it_. This should be easy. Bow loves her. Glimmer _knows_ Bow loves her. Catra was right, and even if she’d said nothing, the way Bow _looks_ at Glimmer is enough all on its own. She can’t lie to herself and pretend he doesn’t. She’d barely made herself believe that for a _day_ ; she can’t do it forever. She has to tell him how she feels.

And yet, she’s still scared. There’s a tiny, irrepressible voice at the back of her head, saying _what if you’re wrong, what if you wreck things, what if you_ lose _him_ , and Glimmer can’t help but listen.

“Hey.” Bow is holding her hand in both of his now, turning in his seat to look at her. “It’s okay. You don’t have to do this right now.” He thinks Glimmer is worried about Angella, but the words ring true for what Glimmer is actually worried about all the same.

“You’re right,” Glimmer says. She takes a deep breath, trying to calm her racing pulse. “You’re right.” Bow squeezes her hand gently.

“Do you want to go home?” he asks. Glimmer shakes her head.

“I can do this,” she says. “I was just…I don’t know. I can do this.”

“If you’re sure,” Bow says. “I’m guessing you want me to stay out here?” Glimmer nods. “Is there anything I can do to help before you go in?” Glimmer desperately, desperately wants to ask him to kiss her. He’d do it, too, if she asked. She can count on one hand the number of times he’s refused her _anything_.

But she doesn’t _need_ that, right now, and it wouldn’t be fair of her to ask for it. Not without telling him the truth.

“I think I’m okay,” Glimmer says instead. “I’ll…see you in a little bit, I guess.” Bow nods, gives her hand one last squeeze, and lets her go.

Glimmer climbs out of the car and heads toward the door of the bakery. She had asked her mom to stay here when she texted Angella earlier. She isn’t totally confident that a public café is the best place to have this discussion, but she also really, really doesn’t want to cry during it, and she’s hoping that the sheer humiliation of crying in public will prevent her from doing so. Plus, Angella is way too polite to yell in public, if it comes to that.

Glimmer orders a coffee and a croissant at the counter, purposefully not turning to look at the seating area of the bakery while she waits for her order. She can feel eyes on her, and she knows Angella is looking at her from across the room, but she resists the urge to turn around. They’re going to do this on Glimmer’s terms.

Finally, with her coffee and pastry in hand, Glimmer turns to face the room. Her eyes find her mother immediately. Angella is sitting by the window, her tablet in sleep mode on the table in front of her. She’s looking back across the room at Glimmer, her lips pressed together in a thin, nervous line. Glimmer takes a deep breath and walks over.

“Hey,” she says as she approaches the table. Her voice doesn’t tremble at all. Angella gives her something that almost looks like a smile.

“Good morning,” Angella says. Unable to properly respond, Glimmer sets her things down and settles into the chair opposite her mother. Up this close, she notices that Angella looks tired. Not just tired; exhausted. There are dark circles under her eyes, and her shoulders are a bit slumped, not at all like her usual perfect posture. And—Glimmer notices for the first time since she’s been home—there’s gray in Angella’s hair. She’s older than Glimmer remembers her being, and now that she looks tired and defeated, it’s showing.

“So,” Glimmer says. “Uh…” Every coherent thought she’s had about the situation suddenly flies from her mind.

“Can I ask a question?” Angella says. Glimmer, unable to find another place to start, nods. “You’re angry with me,” Angella says, and her tone is…subdued. It’s _weird_ , to hear that from her. She tends to speak with authority, with _power_ , and all of that is gone, now. “From what you said yesterday, you have a right to be. But… _how_ angry? Do you hate me?” Glimmer closes her eyes.

“No,” she says, opening them halfway only to stare into her coffee. “I don’t. But, Mom, I don’t—I don’t really want to talk about _you_. I wanna talk about me, and how I feel, and what I need. And then we can talk about you. Okay?”

“Okay,” Angella whispers. Their table goes silent for a long time. Glimmer tries to find her scattered thoughts and drag them back to attention.

“I said things more cruelly than I needed to, yesterday,” she says first. “But I still meant them. Growing up, everywhere I turned, you were telling me what to do. But it wasn’t like you were _wrong_ about anything. You picked out the right classes and the best schools and a good career path and I just—I couldn’t _argue_ with any of it. And it was so…it felt like I was trapped. Claustrophobic, you know? Like my life was just gonna be making tiny circles in this little box you’d built for me.” She’s rambling. “I don’t know if that makes any sense.”

“I think I understand,” Angella says. “Glimmer, I was only ever trying to keep you safe.”

“I know that.” Glimmer turns her coffee cup in her hands absently. “That’s what made it suck so much, honestly. Like I said, I couldn’t argue. What was I supposed to say? _Sorry Mom, I wanna make stupid decisions for once_?” She takes a deep breath, finally raising her gaze to Angella’s again. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me,” she says. “That’s the only reason I’m sitting here talking to you, instead of driving back to Plumeria and blocking your number.” Angella flinches, but Glimmer sees understanding in her eyes, too.

“That’s why I stayed away,” Glimmer says. “Once I got to college, it was like…I was finally allowed to do my own thing. I could pick my own classes and skip them without prearranging a mental health absence and just—I could make my own mistakes. If I fucked up, it was on me to fix it and learn from it. I had never felt that before, and it sucked, but I loved it.” She shrugs. “I could figure out who _I_ was, and how I reacted to things, and what I wanted, instead of just handling everything how you told me to. I wasn’t going to risk that for anything. So I stayed away.”

“I’m sorry,” Angella says. “I didn’t mean to make you feel so trapped.” Glimmer shakes her head. She already knows that, and the apology rings hollow because of it. “I suppose this explains a lot of how things were before you left for college,” Angella says after a moment, when Glimmer still hasn’t spoken. “You were so withdrawn in high school. You were never home.”

“You’re just _now_ realizing that was weird?” Glimmer asks, a little incredulous. She had taken literally any possible excuse in high school to get out of the house. Angella half-smiles sadly.

“You were always a moody child,” she says. “Long before I made any plans for you. I assumed it was just that tendency taken to its furthest extent. Teenagers avoiding their parents is hardly uncommon, anyway.” Angella’s small smile drops away. “Looking back, though, I should’ve known something was wrong.” Glimmer sips her coffee to delay having to answer. She doesn’t want to get into the full extent of everything that had been _wrong_ when she was a teenager. She’s never spoken to her parents about the depth of her mental health issues, and now really doesn’t feel like the time.

“I just wish you’d said something,” Angella says eventually. “If I had known—“

“I was a kid, Mom,” Glimmer interrupts. “I hadn’t learned how to tell people what I needed.” She’s still learning. “I hadn’t even learned to _know_ what I needed. Nobody ever taught me to.” It’s a pointed statement, and a little passive-aggressive, but Glimmer can’t bring herself to regret it.

“You’re right,” Angella says. “I didn’t teach you that. I’m sorry.” She takes a deep breath, holding Glimmer’s gaze steadily, and Glimmer notices the same determined, unwavering look in her mother’s eyes that she sees in her own in the mirror sometimes. “I’m sorry,” Angella says. “I was wrong to treat you like I did.” This time, Glimmer lets the apology stand, feeling its full weight on her shoulders. She isn’t ready to accept it yet, but she’s willing to accept that Angella _means_ it.

“Thank you,” Glimmer says. Angella nods.

“So, what now?” she asks. “Where do we go from here? Where do you _want_ to go from here?”

“I’m not totally sure,” Glimmer says. “I guess we try to rebuild. I’ll answer your texts more often, at least.” She leaves it at that. They can find their path forward another time. Even with her fourth cup of coffee of the day half-empty in front of her, she’s immensely tired.

“Okay,” Angella says. “If it’s worth anything to you, Glimmer, and I understand if it isn’t…I’m very proud of you. You’re different from how you were last time I saw you, and I love the person that you’ve become.” Glimmer has to take a few deep breaths after that. It cracks her open, just a bit.

Her mother is _proud_ of her. She feels ten feet tall and like a crawling child all at once.

“Thank you,” Glimmer says, when she no longer feels like she might cry if she speaks. “You’re different, too, y’know. You’re less…pushy.” Angella winces at the phrasing, but doesn’t argue with it.

“I’ve learned a few things while you’ve been gone,” she says instead. She pauses, then, looking like she's considering something, and Glimmer waits to hear what it might be. “Your father and I actually…went to counseling last year,” Angella says, and if Glimmer hadn’t just swallowed her coffee, she’d be doing a spit-take.

“You and dad?” she says incredulously. “But you’re—like—“ She gestures vaguely with her hands, trying to find a way to convey _made for each other_ while still rendered speechless.

“We are,” Angella says. “So you can imagine how concerning it was to have serious issues.” She shrugs. “I took the counseling very seriously. I learned a lot about communication. That might be what you mean.” It is, but Glimmer has completely forgotten about her own comment by this point.

“But you and dad are fine now, right?” she says. She _cannot_ handle more family drama. Absolutely not. She will lock her parents in a room together if she has to. She—

“We are,” Angella says. “We’re doing wonderfully.” Glimmer breathes a sigh of relief, and the table settles into silence for a bit. Glimmer finishes her coffee. Angella turns her tablet on for a few minutes, doing…something. Whatever old people do on the internet. Glimmer, for her part, checks her social media and considers sending a text to Bow. It’d certainly ease his mind—Glimmer is certain he’s sitting in the car worrying about her—but she's not sure what she can say. The conversation had gone well, considering the subject matter, but whatever ground she and Angella are standing on now still feels shaky, like it might crumble away if one of them says the wrong thing.

“Well,” Angella says, putting her tablet back to sleep and looking up at Glimmer. “I suppose we should go home now. Micah is probably worrying.” Glimmer smiles.

“I was just thinking the same thing about Bow,” she says. “He’s outside waiting for me.”

“Is he?” Angella says. “That’s very sweet of him.” She pauses. “I know I didn’t…express myself well before, but I do really like him, Glimmer. I’m glad you have him in your life. If you come back to visit again, he’s always welcome to come with you.” Glimmer takes all of the _complications_ that idea brings—the fact that she’ll have to continue to lie to her parents about her relationship with Bow, or tell them they broke up, or start _actually_ dating Bow—and shoves them aside to focus on _if you come back to visit again_.

“Mom, if I keep visiting, you—you _have_ to do better,” Glimmer says. “With how you talk to me, I mean. You have to, or I can’t—“

“I know,” Angella says. “I know. Of course I will. With everything we’ve talked about, I thought that much went unsaid.”

“I…don’t think we should leave things unsaid,” Glimmer says. “Not anymore.” Not saying what they feel has fucked up too much for the two of them. Angella smiles at Glimmer, and Glimmer can _see_ the pride that Angella mentioned in her eyes.

“You’re right,” Angella says. “I’ll do better, I promise.” Glimmer nods. She isn’t quite ready to accept Angella’s apologies, but she can accept this. The ground beneath the two of them grows a little firmer.

“Okay,” Glimmer says. “Then let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! i'm on tumblr @sevens-evan if you wanna keep up with me (and get links to ghost hunters au when it comes out hint hint) and i'm always happy to talk to anyone on there if you wanna talk to me!! please leave a comment on this if you liked the chapter; y'all's feedback means the world to me.


	7. Sunday + Monday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we are back very fast this time because i've been oddly productive the last few days. i don't really have much to preface this with, it's just cute and fluffy and soft. very out of character for me as a writer, but i think it's good. enjoy!

Glimmer wakes up with Bow again.

She’s literally _never_ a morning person, but she feels more alert today than she did yesterday. Dinner with her parents the night before had been a little awkward, none of them quite sure what to say to each other, but it hadn’t _hurt_. Glimmer had slept much easier than she has in days, now that the stress of her family situation is finally somewhat eased, so when her eyes drift open, she isn’t so groggy that Bow’s presence confuses her.

“Morning,” Bow says, when he sees that Glimmer’s eyes are open. He’s sitting up in bed against the wall, holding his phone in one hand with the other resting on Glimmer’s shoulder. She’s sort of half in his lap, her head resting on his hipbone—which is actually a bit sharp.

“Morning,” Glimmer says, shifting her head down to rest on his thigh instead. “What time is it?”

“A little after nine,” Bow says. “I figured I’d let you sleep in.” Nine in the morning is barely sleeping in at all by Glimmer’s standards—she hit five in the afternoon in high school once, although that had been more fueled by depression than anything—but she isn’t tired enough to drift off again. She accepts the fact that she’s awake for the day with a resigned sigh, though she doesn’t move from Bow’s lap. He doesn’t ask her to, either. This is _clearly_ not the position they fell asleep in, so he’s likely already been up for quite awhile, long enough to return to bed to stay with her.

Bow’s thumb rubs absent circles into Glimmer’s shoulder. She lets her eyes fall half-shut and enjoys the sensation. It’s pleasant, relaxing, although Glimmer suspects the general feeling of warm, lazy contentment in her veins would remain no matter how Bow was touching her. It has less to do with the physical sensation and much more to do with _Bow_.

Eventually, though, Glimmer has to sit up. There’s a thought nagging at her. It’s been simmering beneath the surface of _everything else_ going on in her brain all weekend, and it’s beginning to boil over now that the situation with her parents is resolved and she’s pretty sure she and Bow are three to six words away from _actually_ dating. With her other worries eased, this particular anxiety takes center stage.

Glimmer lifts herself out of Bow’s lap and sits up. She turns to face him on the bed, crossing her legs in front of her. Bow immediately locks his phone and sets it aside on the bedside table, giving her his full attention.

Glimmer takes a minute to search for the right words. Bow would understand no matter how she said it, but she still wants to say it _right_.

“I’m sorry,” she says slowly, “that I’ve been so…self-involved this weekend.” Bow’s expression changes instantly from one of attentiveness to one of complete and utter disagreement. Glimmer pushes on anyway, before he can even attempt to comfort her. “I know it was kind of _supposed_ to be about me,” she says. “Since, y’know, it’s my crisis and everything. But I didn’t—I haven't been checking in with you as much as I should have been. I know a lot of this stuff has been stressful for you, too, and—“

“Glimmer,” Bow says. Glimmer blinks at him, stopped in her tracks. It’s _rare_ for Bow to interrupt her during a conversation like this. “You better not be _apologizing_ for going through this. You haven’t done anything wrong by _having problems_.”

“I’m not,” Glimmer protests. That really _isn’t_ what she’s trying to say. She’s never felt _guilty_ for her needs and emotions; that’s Adora’s thing. She just— “I feel like I should be treating you better,” Glimmer says. “Like the way you treat me.”

“Okay, and, respectfully, that’s bullshit,” Bow says. “I’ve been checking in with you all the time because I _know_ you’re dealing with a lot right now. If I was in this situation, you’d be doing the exact same thing.” Glimmer…isn’t completely sure that’s true. She isn’t as emotionally aware as Bow. Checking in and meeting needs and respecting boundaries and _communication_ all seem to come naturally to him, where Glimmer finds them taxing. Granted, a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that Bow was raised by two of the most emotionally stable and well-adjusted people Glimmer has ever met, whereas she was raised by a partially absent father and a well-intentioned but kind-of-terrible-at-her-job mother, but—but—

Glimmer can’t actually argue with herself there. She’s made too good of a point. Bow has been doing all of this since he was _literally_ an infant, and Glimmer has had to learn it in the past six or seven years. Considering all of that? Maybe Glimmer wouldn’t be checking in with quite as much tact or frequency or thoughtfulness if their situations were flipped, but she’d be _trying_.

“You’re right,” Glimmer says. She closes her eyes and presses her palms against them, trying to push back her sleepiness. “It’s too early for me to win arguments.” It’s a weak joke, but Bow laughs anyway.

“We aren’t arguing,” he says as Glimmer lowers her hands and peers at him. “You’re just wrong.” Glimmer shakes her head fondly as he laughs again, and she’s _seconds_ away from telling him she loves him when her phone buzzes on the bedside table. She doesn’t bother leaning forward to look at it; Bow is already glancing down to read the text.

“Micah wants you to know that breakfast is ready whenever you’re ready to get up,” he says. Glimmer nods. Every other day this weekend, getting up and going downstairs had felt like an impossible task, and not just because it was morning and she hadn’t had coffee yet. She had dreaded sitting around the table and trying to feel _comfortable_ in her parents’ presence.

That dread is gone now.

“Let’s go downstairs,” Glimmer says. Bow smiles and nods.

* * *

“I’ll push the cart,” Glimmer says as soon as they step through the sliding doors of the grocery store. Bow shoots her a fond smile as she darts to the side to grab a shopping cart and pull it up alongside him.

“Sounds good,” he says, pulling out his phone. “Your dad really did not organize this list very well, so we might be here for awhile.” Glimmer shrugs and says nothing. She’s perfectly alright with that. Her dad had apologized profusely before they left the house for saddling them with grocery duty on their last day in Bright Moon, but he had completely used up a lot of basic ingredients while cooking for Thanksgiving, and Glimmer really doesn’t mind the chore. It’s the sort of boring, domestic work that she’s always savored when she’s sharing it with Bow.

…And maybe that should’ve been a sign, like, _years_ ago that she was in love with him.

_Oops._

“How much flour should we buy?” Bow says, still looking at his phone as they head into the store. “I mean, it’s not like it goes bad? Should we just buy a giant bag?” Glimmer shrugs.

“If my dad cared that much, he would’ve come himself,” she says. Bow doesn’t look like he necessarily agrees with her—he’s always been a people-pleaser, and he probably wants to make sure he gets the exact right amount for Micah—but he doesn’t argue. They set off towards the baking aisle of the store. Glimmer kicks off the floor and balances on the back of the cart, riding it forwards.

“How’d your dad run out of flour, anyway?” Bow says. They turn into the aisle, and Glimmer reluctantly sets her feet back on the ground for a minute to turn the cart. “He made, like, one loaf of bread.”

“Gonna be honest, I don’t think I would understand my dad if he had been around when I was a kid,” Glimmer says. The joke comes out without bite to it, not a trace of bitterness in her voice. Bow shoots a glance over his shoulder, gauging her her mood before he gives the joke a quiet snort of amusement.

They pause halfway down the aisle so Bow can grab one of the enormous bags of flour on the bottom shelf and put it in their cart. It doesn’t seem to take him a lot of effort to pick up, but the entire cart shifts with the weight of it when he drops it in. Glimmer watches from behind the cart as Bow takes his phone out again, looking for the next item on the list.

“Bow?” she says. Bow hums, not looking up from his phone but encouraging her to continue. “I love you.” Bow glances up at her.

“I love you, too,” he says. His voice is even, without a trace of surprise. He looks back down at his phone, and Glimmer absolutely _hates_ their habit of saying that to each other all the time, because he has _no idea_ what she’s trying to say.

She almost gives up. That voice in the back of her mind is still there, telling her it’s _dangerous_ , asking _what if he doesn’t love you, what if, what if_. And it’s true, it _is_ dangerous, and _what if_ he doesn’t love her back?

But Glimmer has realized that that voice sounds a little bit like her mother, and she is finished with living _safely_ at the expense of her happiness. It’s time to take risks.

“Bow,” Glimmer says again. He looks up at her, confused. “ _I love you_.” He blinks at her once, twice, and then it _clicks_. She can see it in his eyes, the moment he _understands_.

Bow smiles and says, “I love you, too.” It sounds just like every other time he’s said it, so _gentle_ that it makes Glimmer’s chest ache, and she understands now how he’s always meant it.

“Yeah?” Glimmer whispers.

“Yeah.” Bow is grinning now, broad and silly and euphoric. “Always.” Glimmer has to look away for a moment, an answering grin taking over her face. She had known—she had thought—she had been almost _certain_ he felt the same. But _knowing_ it is vastly inferior to _hearing_ it.

“Okay,” Glimmer says, looking back up at Bow. His eyes are glossy in the washed-out light of the grocery store, and he looks happier than Glimmer has seen him in a long, long time. Maybe happier than he has ever been.

“Okay,” Bow says. They stare at each other for a moment. It’s all Glimmer can do to hold onto the handle of the grocery cart and not shove it aside to kiss him right there. None of this is as perfect as she pictured it, but she’d still rather not have their first kiss in the middle of the store.

“We, uh,” Glimmer clears her throat, “we should finish shopping.” Bow blinks.

“Right,” he says. “We…should do that, yeah.”

Somehow, they make it through the rest of the grocery list without Glimmer shoving Bow up against a store display and kissing him, but it’s a narrow thing. Their hands brush while they’re checking out, and Glimmer just about loses her mind. She _has_ to put a few inches of distance between them as they walk back out to the car, and even with that space, her heart is pounding in her chest.

Bow unlocks the car, and they load their grocery bags—and the enormous bag of flour—into the trunk. He starts to head around the car towards the driver’s seat, but Glimmer catches him by the arm.

“Backseat,” she says when he turns to look at her. He blinks.

“What?” Glimmer rolls her eyes and yanks the back door of the car open.

“ _Backseat_ ,” she says again, giving him a little shove. Bow doesn’t look any less confused, but he obeys, sliding into the backseat of the car. Glimmer climbs in after him, nudging him over on the seat.

“Glimmer, what—“

Glimmer slams the door behind her, climbs into Bow’s lap, and kisses him.

Bow makes a brief, surprised noise against her lips, but then his hands are coming up to rest on her waist, and his lips are moving against hers, and Glimmer has to clutch onto his shoulder with one hand because she gets a little dizzy. Her other hand comes around to the back of his head, rubbing against the buzzed hair there and pressing forwards to bring him closer to her.

The kiss, in all likelihood, doesn’t actually last that long, but when Glimmer pulls away, her head is _spinning_. Bow doesn’t look like he’s in much better shape—he’s breathing heavily, and Glimmer can feel his hands trembling around her waist.

They’re going to have to take this very, very slow, or both of them are going to _actually_ die.

“Sorry,” Glimmer says after a moment. Her voice comes out breathless and a little higher than usual. “I just couldn’t wait another minute for that without killing somebody.”

“You—“ Bow shakes his head. “You really, really do _not_ need to apologize. Holy shit.” Glimmer laughs.

“Holy shit,” she agrees. Bow laughs too, and suddenly they’re just sitting there in the back of the car, laughing in each other’s arms.

“Wait, wait,” Bow says. Glimmer catches her breath, looking at him curiously, and he leans in to kiss her again. It’s slower this time, shallower, less desperation and pent-up emotion pouring into it. Glimmer’s hand slips down from Bow’s shoulder to rest against his chest. Distantly, she realizes she can feel his heartbeat through his shirt, steady and strong.

“ _God_ ,” Glimmer says when she pulls away. “Why haven’t we been doing that for years?” Bow laughs, but Glimmer is only half-kidding. She waits for him to calm down again, until he looks up at her with clear, adoring eyes. “That story you told the first night,” she says, “about the day you fell in love with me, when we first moved in together. Was that true?”

“…Yeah.” Bow’s fingers are tracing absent patterns on her sides, which feels really nice, but also kind of tickles a little bit. She nudges his arms farther around her so that he’s rubbing her back instead of the sensitive spots just below her ribcage.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Glimmer asks. “If I had known earlier, I mean—it could’ve changed everything.” Bow’s gaze grows distant, and he averts his eyes, looking at the back of the car seat headrest over Glimmer’s shoulder instead of at her face.

“I didn’t know if there was a point,” he says quietly. “I mean, you dated people all through college. You never seemed afraid to tell someone you were interested, and then after college you hooked up with people pretty often. I assumed you didn’t want, like, a relationship.”

“Bow, we were basically already _in_ a relationship.”

“I…yeah, okay,” Bow says. “That’s true. But I just—I don’t know. I didn’t wanna be, like, that shitty dude, you know? The kind of guy who makes moves on his friends and makes them uncomfortable. I don’t wanna be that kind of person.”

“Bow…” Glimmer shakes her head. She understands, sort of. But Bow wouldn’t, Bow _couldn’t_ be that kind of guy. He _cares_ too much about other people’s feelings.

“I didn’t…wanna make how I felt your responsibility,” Bow says.

“It is, though,” Glimmer says. “It is my responsibility. Or—not _responsibility_ , but, like—we’re partners, Bow. And we were before this, too. It’s like you said. We’re building a life together, you know? So how you feel is just as important to me as it is to you. _You_ basically told me that, this morning.” She shrugs. “Also, I love you, too, and it would’ve been nice to make out before now.” Bow smiles.

“I can’t argue with that,” he says. “Tell you what, next time I realize I’ve been in love with you for years, I’ll let you know.” Glimmer laughs, even though it isn’t that funny, and kisses him.

“We should probably stop kissing in the car,” Bow says when he pulls away, “since we’re still in the grocery store parking lot.”

“Probably,” Glimmer agrees.

It takes them a long time to stop kissing in the car.

* * *

On Monday morning, Glimmer wakes up alone. It doesn’t bother her one bit, not after yesterday. Not after last night, falling asleep in Bow’s arms and _knowing_ that it _is_ going to be like this for the rest of their lives.

Glimmer waits for a few minutes before she decides that Bow probably isn’t coming back from wherever he’s wandered off to. She reluctantly gets out of bed, yawning and rubbing at her eyes, and notices when she drops her hands that the room around her has been cleaned up. She and Bow haven’t exactly made much of a mess in the few days they’ve been here, but their phone chargers have been packed away, as have their extra clothes and the jacket Bow had left over the back of the chair at Glimmer’s old desk the night before. Bow must’ve packed their things up while Glimmer was asleep.

Glimmer goes to the bathroom, returns to collect her phone from the bedside table, and heads downstairs, still rubbing sleep from her eyes. She finds the living room empty, but there’s voices coming from the kitchen. She can’t make out the words through the walls, but she hears Bow, and both her parents.

They sound happy.

Glimmer stands in the living room for a long moment. She closes her eyes to listen to the voices coming through the walls, lets the fact that she is _home_ , that her family is back together, that the people she loves most are all near her and _happy_ wash over her. Then she takes a deep breath that turns into a yawn halfway through and heads to the kitchen.

The moment she steps into the room, it’s like Bow _senses_ her. He turns away from the pan he’s minding, meeting her gaze with a huge grin. Beside him, Micah is cooking something else on the stove, and Angella is across the room, leaning against the counter by the window. Glimmer pays her parents very little mind, though.

She’s across the room and pressed against Bow’s chest before he can even open his arms.

“Good morning,” Bow says. He sounds a little amused by her enthusiasm, though it’s overshadowed by the general _contentment_ he’s practically glowing with.

“Morning,” Glimmer mumbles into his chest. She’s still very aware of her parents’ presence in the room, so she pulls away a bit. She’s barely gotten over knowing that Bow loves her; she doesn’t think she can handle PDA yet.

Bow kisses her on the forehead, which just about makes Glimmer’s brain implode. She can’t handle this before she has coffee. She gives him a smile then pulls out of his arms, going to the cabinet to search for a mug.

“Good morning, Glimmer,” Angella says as Glimmer turns back around and heads to the coffee pot.

“Morning, Mom,” she says. “Dad, whatcha making?”

“Pancakes again,” Micah says over his shoulder. “I only know so many breakfast recipes.” Glimmer hums. She isn’t exactly _unhappy_ with pancakes.

Breakfast passes just like that. Glimmer regains the ability to form sentences after her first cup of coffee. When they’re done eating, they sit around the table and talk. Under the table, Bow’s hand is wrapped up in both of Glimmer’s, resting in her lap. Conversation with her parents flows easily, _comfortably_ , and Glimmer never once has to let Bow take over while she swallows back anger and frustration. It’s maybe the most relaxed meal she’s had with her parents since she was a _very_ young child.

But eventually, it ends. Glimmer checks her phone and realizes that it’s noon, and that she and Bow need to get on the road back to Plumeria if they want to make it there at some semblance of a reasonable hour. She and Bow head back upstairs to collect their things, and suddenly Glimmer is alone in the kitchen with Angella, watching through the window as Micah and Bow load bags into Bow’s car in the driveway.

“Well,” Angella says quietly, looking over at Glimmer. Glimmer looks back at her and feels a strange sensation building in her chest. After a moment, she recognizes it as sadness. She’s going to miss her mother.

“Yeah,” Glimmer says. Her voice shakes a bit. Angella doesn’t comment on it.

“Before you go, I should thank you,” Angella says, “for our conversation yesterday. I know that, however hard it was on me, it was harder for you. So thank you. For being honest with me.” Glimmer nods, swallowing against the lump in her throat.

“You’re welcome,” she says, and then, because she’s emotional right now and out of the corner of her eye she can see Bow outside, talking to Micah with a grin on his face, she says, “I wasn’t— _totally_ honest.” Angella blinks at her, confused. “Me and Bow,” Glimmer admits. “We, uh, we weren’t actually dating when I invited him. I just—I needed him with me, and it seemed like the most convenient excuse.” Angella looks twice as confused now.

“You _aren’t_ dating?” she says. “You certainly fooled me. But, Glimmer, you could’ve just invited him as a friend. You don’t need to make excuses.”

“I know,” Glimmer says. “I wasn’t thinking super clearly at the time. Plus, I sort’ve realized while we’ve been here that I’ve been in love with him forever, so maybe I was subconsciously trying to make a move.”

“I…see,” Angella says. “And have you told him about this revelation?” Glimmer nods, feeling little sparks of warmth in her chest at just the thought.

“I did,” she says. “He loves me back. Obviously.” Angella’s bemused look breaks into a smile.

“Well, then,” she says. “He’s always welcome here, if you visit.”

“…Yeah.” Glimmer looks out the window. Bow and Micah are gone; they must be on the front porch or already in the house. “Maybe we’ll come for Christmas,” she says, looking back at her mother. Angella’s eyes light up with _hope_.

“I would like that very much,” she says quietly.

“Hey, guys.” The voice comes from the doorway, and Angella turns out of the way to reveal Bow standing there, smiling at them. “We should probably get on the road.”

“Of course,” Angella says. “It’s a long drive back to Plumeria.” She pauses, glancing at Glimmer again, and Glimmer finally steps forward and hugs her. Angella returns it after a moment, a little awkwardly.

“Okay,” Glimmer says when she steps back. “I’ll, uh, I guess I’ll see you soon.” Angella smiles at her. Glimmer is pretty sure she sees tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

Angella turns to head out of the kitchen. She pauses next to Bow, who looks like a deer in the headlights for a minute before Angella just sets a hand on his shoulder.

“It was very nice to meet you, Bow,” she says. “Treat Glimmer well.” It sounds _just_ enough like a threat that Bow’s eyes go wide.

“Of course,” he says. “Always.” Angella smiles at him and slips out of the room. Bow turns to look at Glimmer, expression panicked. “Your mom can be _scary_ ,” he whispers, and Glimmer laughs.

“C’mon,” she says, stepping forward and taking his hand. “Let’s go home.”

They say goodbye to Micah on the front porch. He hugs Glimmer, too, so tightly she swears her ribs pop. He also cries, which makes Bow cry, which _almost_ makes Glimmer cry, but she manages to keep the tears in. Micah stays on the porch, waving goodbye as Bow backs out of the driveway. Glimmer waves back from the passenger seat until they turn onto the street, and Micah disappears from sight.

As Bow pulls them onto the highway headed back towards Plumeria, quiet music playing on the radio, Glimmer reaches across the center console and takes his hand.

* * *

The knocking on the apartment door grows more intense. Glimmer groans in irritation as Bow pulls back from their kiss.

“Sorry,” he says. “But those are our best friends out there.”

“So?” Glimmer says, crossing her arms once Bow has stepped out of them.

“So if we don’t open the door, Catra will absolutely pick the lock,” Bow says, which Glimmer really can’t argue with. “Plus, they’ve got food.” Glimmer and Bow haven’t eaten since the snacks they bought at a gas station on the drive home, and it’s almost ten o’clock at night. Catra and Adora had decided to delay their own dinner to eat with Glimmer and Bow after they got home, which is probably contributing to the rapid, irritated knocking on the door of Glimmer and Bow’s apartment. Catra gets mean when she’s hungry.

Bow straightens out his shirt, wipes at his face, and heads over to the door. Glimmer doesn’t really bother cleaning her appearance up; her hair is probably messy, but she’s walked in on Catra and Adora doing far worse, and she doesn’t have the sense of embarrassment that Bow does.

“Fucking _finally_ ,” Catra says the moment the front door is open. Bow steps aside, letting them in, already grinning fondly at Catra’s antics. Adora follows her girlfriend in, plastic takeout bags that smell _delicious_ loading down her arms. She sets them on the table while she and Catra kick off their shoes, then turns to Glimmer with a hopeful smile.

“So!” Adora says. “How’d it go with your parents?” Her tone makes Glimmer frown.

“Okay, did _everyone_ know I had issues with my parents?” she asks, glancing between Catra and Adora. Bow has disappeared into the kitchen, presumably getting them something to eat their food _with_. Catra snorts.

“It was kinda obvious, Sparkles,” she says. “Me and Adora don’t go home for the holidays because we were raised by a psychopath. Bow only goes sometimes because his dads have a rotating schedule of which kids go since they can only fit half of them in the house. What’s your excuse?”

“I—“ Glimmer doesn’t really have one. She sighs. “It went really well,” she says to Adora. “Like, really, really good. I think I might go for Christmas, too.”

“That’s _awesome_ ,” Adora says. Bow returns from the kitchen before Glimmer can respond.

“Table or floor, guys?” he asks. He has a bunch of utensils in his hands, spoons and forks and even a knife. He’s prepared for whatever may be in the takeout containers, apparently.

“Floor,” Glimmer decides. The four of them have had this tradition since college, when they often ended up hanging out or eating on someone’s dorm room floor. They eat at the table when they’re tired, or when they just feel like eating without the constant threat of staining the carpet, but on the floor when they feel like being _close_. There’s nothing _really_ different about it, but it feels more intimate, somehow. It makes Glimmer feel connected to her friends, sitting down with her back against a piece of furniture and a styrofoam container in her lap.

Glimmer settles down against the couch, and Bow joins her immediately, their shoulders brushing together. Catra and Adora are both leaned up against an armchair across from Glimmer and Bow, containers balanced on their laps. Glimmer is about to open her container and find out what her friends have brought her when something catches her eye.

Catra is leaning forward to get a fork, and something on her finger is glinting.

“ _Catra_ ,” Glimmer says. She immediately sets her container aside and darts forward to grab Catra by the wrist. Catra makes an angry noise, but Glimmer completely ignores it in favor of examining the simple, nondescript gold band on Catra’s ring finger. “Did Adora _propose_?” It doesn’t look like an engagement ring, but Glimmer can’t think of what else it might be. Catra doesn’t really wear jewelry. Behind Catra, Adora makes a noise like she’s choking on her food.

“Uh,” Adora says, voice strained. “Not…exactly?” Glimmer releases Catra’s wrist and looks up at Adora. Adora raises her hand, revealing a similar band on her own finger. “We, um,” Adora begins.

“You got _married_ ,” Glimmer says. “ _Seriously_ , guys? The _one_ weekend I’m out of town, you guys get _married_?” Catra cackles, obviously amused by Glimmer’s displeasure. Adora winces and turns pink, looking like a kid who got caught with a hand in the cookie jar.

“Yeah,” she says. “We’ve talked about it, and we didn’t want it to be a big thing anyway, and it just…felt right, this weekend. So on Friday we…” She gestures vaguely at her ring with her other hand.

_Friday_.

The penny drops.

“ _That_ was what I interrupted,” Glimmer says, turning to Catra. “When I called you. Oh my God, why the _fuck_ did you pick up the phone? You were getting _married_!”

“Stop saying it like that,” Catra mutters. “You were in a crisis, Sparkles. Adora could wait a minute. I mean, she almost passed out from anxiety, but she waited.”

“A crisis?” Bow says, looking at Glimmer. Glimmer glances over at him, noting his bemused expression—he’s apparently taking their best friends getting _married_ in stride—and realizes she had never told him about her phone call with Catra.

“Oh, shit,” Catra says from across the room. “Uh, Glimmer was having—a, uh, fashion crisis, and obviously she couldn’t talk to you or Adora since all you guys own is workout clothes.” Adora makes an insulted noise.

“That is not what it was,” Glimmer says. She appreciates Catra’s effort to keep her secret, but it isn’t exactly a _secret_ anymore. “I called Catra after I realized how I felt about you,” she says to Bow. “I needed advice. I didn’t realize I was interrupting a _wedding_.” Bow nods, his confused expression fading, but now Glimmer is getting the same look from across the room.

“Wait, are you guys finally together?” Adora asks, looking back and forth between them.

“What do you mean, _finally_ —“ Glimmer begins, because it’s true but she isn’t going to take it from her friends.

“Yes,” Bow interrupts. He throws an arm around Glimmer’s shoulders, which immediately and effectively renders her speechless. “We are.”

“And you got together this weekend?” Adora says. “This weekend specifically?”

“…Yes?” Bow says. Catra laughs again, and Adora curses quietly.

“You owe me twenty dollars, princess,” Catra says. Glimmer just shakes her head. Of _course_ they had a bet going on her and Bow. _Everybody_ knew where they were headed except Glimmer, apparently.

Bow’s arm stays around her shoulders as he opens his takeout container. He’s apparently determined to somehow eat one-handed, and Glimmer isn’t about to stop him if it means she gets to stay tucked into his side. Across the room, Adora and Catra are bickering quietly about who owes who money, and that same feeling from this morning comes back: the feeling of _home_ , of _comfort_ , of _family_.

Glimmer presses a kiss to Bow’s forearm, because it’s on her shoulder within reach and she _can_. He grins at her, and Glimmer’s heart does a little flip in her chest—not nervous, not _butterflies_. Just…happy.

She’s happy, and she’s where she belongs. With her friends, with her parents just a phone call away, with _Bow_ , right there beside her where he’s always been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @bonpop on tumblr made some amazing fanart of the kiss in this chapter!!  
> .
> 
> thanks for reading! i'll be posting a sequel to my catradora fic the roots that sleep in a couple weeks, and then i'll be starting to post my ensemble high school ghost hunters au fic. definitely keep an eye out for that if you want more glimbow, more catradora, and more of the bfs being a lil family.
> 
> i'm on tumblr @sevens-evan if you wanna keep up with me; i do prompt fics sometimes and post sneak peeks of upcoming fics. please leave a comment if you liked this chapter or this fic!


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